The ‘house of the year’ has been crowned — and it’s in Crystal Palace

A south-east London property with ‘unfinished’ interiors has beat out a Welsh stable block and a refurbished farmworker’s house in Cornwall to be named House of the Year by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Squeezed into a side garden by 31/44 Architects, Six Columns wowed RIBA judges with its minimalist design that sits seamlessly between the 1950s homes on the Crystal Palace street.

From the outside, the house looks plain and humble. But behind the front door lies a ‘beautifully crafted’ space intended to meet the ‘changing needs of the family’ over the years, surrounded by a lush green garden with plots bought from neighbours.

The reddish-brick home has sentimental value for architect Will Burges, who designed the house for his family and left much of the interior – including the blockwork and concrete pillars – exposed.

‘I kept walking past the site on my way to the railway station every day. I kept looking at it, thinking it would definitely make a good building plot,’ he told The Times.

Will previously lived just a few streets away, but the family struggled to make their open-plan 60s home practical for their young children.

He was stunned when the owner of the land said they would consider selling if he secured planning permission.

Will and his team wasted no time future-proofing the home. Should the couple still live there in their later years, they’ll be able to use the downstairs as almost a ground-floor flat, since the adult sitting room has a retractable wall opening onto the main bedroom.

It’s heated by a single air-source pump, which generates all the energy required for heating and washing at a fraction of the typical price.

In RIBA president Muyiwa Oki’s view, it’s a ‘beautifully crafted family home that cleverly incorporates Brutalist references and creative flourishes while retaining a strong sense of suburban belonging.’

This is the second year in a row that a London house has taken the crown, with the self-titled Green House in Tottenham coming out on top in 2023.

A typical terraced house, the ‘Tottenham Riad’ was described as a ‘true oasis within the city.’

‘It is both airy and cosy, bold yet respectful of its neighbours. Your eye is simultaneously drawn upwards to open sky and down and out across the living room to greenery,’ jury chair Dido Milne said of the win.

In 2022, the Red House in Dorset was crowned the winner, praised for both its idyllic location and its eccentricity.

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