Grand Designs House of the Year contenders: Kevin McCloud visits brutalist 'Ghost House' and a futuristic Bond-style lair among RIBA award contenders

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Kristy Gray13 November 2019

Just when you thought Kevin McCloud really had seen it all on Grand Designs, this week's closing instalment of House of the Year throws into the mix some of the quirkiest and most extraordinary homes yet.

There's a gigantic timber wedge-shaped home carved into a sloping hillside in Devon; a modernist Arts & Crafts stable conversion in Wales and a brutalist, sunken concrete pile in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In London we visit a futuristic James Bond-style lair which took a marathon five years to build; and a miniature modernist mansion which has been squeezed into a tiny garden plot and dramatically crowned with a sculptural copper cone-shaped roof.

What this eclectic group of properties have in common, according to presenter Kevin McCloud, architect Damion Burrows and design expert Michelle Ogundehin — who visit each of the homes featured on tonight's show — is immaculate craftsmanship and an inspired use of natural and sustainable construction materials.

These homes have already bagged themselves regional awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and by the end of the episode, which airs on Wednesday November 13 on Channel 4 at 9pm, one of them will be named as the UK's best new home.

The five contenders

1. The Ghost House, Stratford-upon-Avon

Most of this brutalist concrete home is below ground, built into the sunken garden of a now-demolished country house in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The layout provides a simple symmetrical plan, while two black steel staircases lead to the main bedroom, which is also constructed entirely of concrete and lit only by roof lights.

Inspired by the work of Japanese architect Tadao Ando, it is lit by a series of different-sized courtyards, with the vast main living space spanning the full length of the house.

In stark contrast, the minimalist interior opens out to a large courtyard with small reflecting pools and cherry trees.

2. Kenwood Lee House, London

In Highgate, a marathon five-year build has created an exceptional modernist, hi-tech home described by the RIBA judges as a fitting hideaway for both a Bond villain or the peerless secret agent himself.

Young married architects, Cousins & Cousins, designed the home to fit in with the surrounding conservation area: a property with a front exterior similar to the neighbour’s, incorporating a nod to the local Arts and Crafts vibe, with the use of elegant modern bricks and a seamed zinc roof creating simple lines.

Yet the house is a tale of two halves, with a striking, glassy, modern box at the rear that is invisible from the street.

The ground-level glass extension provides extra living space, while a swimming pool and cinema room were dug out underneath.

3. House in a Garden, London

In the back garden of a 19th-century townhouse, this deceptively spacious home was squeezed on to the tiny former site of a run-down Sixties bungalow. The original, complicated plot was overshadowed by houses on three sides as well as by a large plane tree in the garden.

The boundary was so awkward and tight that 3D modelling techniques were used to test the viability of the single-storey pavilion-style structure that was planned for the pocket-sized garden.

Crowning the modernist building is a sculptural copper roof which rises up in the centre of the living room, allowing a funnel-shaped cone of sunlight to flood the space.

Grooved panels of grey Carrara marble and Douglas fir timber add luxury and texture throughout.

The RIBA judges said: "The building offers a clever response to a unique set of circumstances, where natural light has been enthusiastically embraced to inform and direct the development of an accomplished piece of architecture."

4. The Green House, Devon

The Green House near Tiverton, Devon
Joakim Boren

This quirky timber home has the appearance of a huge triangular wedge built into a sloping, tree-lined hillside in rural Devon.

Its green roof sweeps down above the main double-height living space of the house, which is deliberately perched at tree height and framed by floor-to-ceiling glass at branch level, overlooking a natural swimming lake.

Devon-based architect David Sheppard has championed local materials in its construction, with larch cladding from the surrounding estate used to envelope the structure, allowing the house to blend seamlessly into its tranquil rural setting. Bat boxes are integrated on the side.

Inside, Scandi-chic meets country lodge styling in three bedrooms, five bathrooms and a cosy snug room stretching out across the lower floor.

"This house abounds with character and personality. A masterful play of shaping with land, trees and water that might well prove to be timeless," said the RIBA judges.

5. Silver How, Llanhennock, Wales

Silver How in Monmouthshire has been built using local red sandstone
Simon Maxwell

Named after a Cumbrian peak, Silver How is a five-bedroom family home in Monmouthshire surrounded by protected oak trees.

The design links a converted Arts and Crafts-style stable to a new three-storey home set at a right angle.

Built in local red sandstone and wrapped in sliding glass panels, the structure blends in with the landscape and is flooded with light

The final episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday 13 November.