The annual search for house of the year by the Royal Institute of British Architects have pinned their choice on the Flint House, crowned as the prestigious winner of House of the Year 2015. Designed by London based architect Skene Catling De La Pena, the interesting wedge-shaped home is located in Buckinghamshire and is solely covered by lumps of the prevalent in the local landscape, flint stone.
Home to an art curator, the unique structure rises from the flat field, following a tonal gradient of flint stones, with darker hues on the base, effortlessly grading to the white top. Flint is rarely used in architecture, but the strategic use of this stone for the Flint House is to reflect and blend with the surrounding, dissolving the borders of man-made architecture and nature.
A series of steps and cut away balconies are one of the emblematic features of the building, making it follow a triangular shape. Flint stone is used throughout the inside of the house creating the rough, uneven surface of the walls.
In the words of the judging body from RIBA, which includes architects James Manser, Chris Loyn, the recipient of the 2014 award, and Mary Duggan, co-founder of Duggan Morris:
“Whilst defined by its flint construction, the project is home to an intriguing and intelligent mixed application of rooftops, terraces and recesses that combine to deliver a stunning piece of liveable, provoking, modern architecture that marries into the earthly yet beautiful countryside,” added the RIBA.
The contemporary design of the house also reflects the emerging trend imposed by the rising use of mobile devices, which reshaped the way we work. This imminently predicts the death of the open plan area, substituted with layouts offering plenty of option for study nooks, home office corner and quite spots. As rising number of professionals are turning into freelancing as well as working from home, the modern home needs to provide the necessary solution for this emerging trend.
In this perspective, the Flint House ticks all the boxes in order to be recognized as a the house of 2015, which not only carries contemporary aesthetics and innovative use of materials, but also reflects the functionalities derivative of out current times.
Tags: flint house, house of 2015, house of the year, RIBA
