RIBA House of the Year 2025
Did you watch Channel 4’s Grand Designs, RIBA House of the Year just before Christmas? Here are our five favourite builds from the short-listed buildings…
Amento, Suffolk by James Gorst Architects
A retirement cottage with a zoned, walled layout, designed around views and how you actually move around a house. We’ve worked next to a James Gorst-designed home before and they’re an amazing architectural studio! The attention to detail is something else.
Caochan na Creige, Outer Hebrides by Izat Arundell
A picturesque self-built on a remote Scottish island. This house disappears into its landscape in the best possible way. It’s not showy, just beautifully framed views and a layout that feels natural. This house was the judges favourite and won the RIBA House of the Year 2025.
Cast Corbel House, Norwich by Grafted
A contemporary extension to a Victorian home that works perfectly. The red brick detailing looks both contemporary and in-keeping which is not easy to do. We’d love to do something similar one of our Victorian or Edwardian projects – this is really appropriate for the East Midlands style of heritage building.
Catching Sun House, Walthamstow by Studio Shaw
Built on a former MOT garage plot, this house fills a tricky, enclose site with natural light. What an oasis. Proof that a difficult brief can produce brilliant solutions.
Ferry House, Salisbury by AR Design Studio
Accessibility and long-term liveability built in from the start, stunning materials and views to match. Exactly the kind of holistic thinking we try to bring to every project.
It’s incredibly rare we show other peoples work on our website and we think that’s the right thing to do, after all we’re selling what we do and our experience. But we don’t work in a vacuum and seeing great architecture like this is inspiring to our ongoing work. It reminds us why we love what we do. Which one’s your favourite?
If you’d like to watch these programmes, they’re still on Channel 4’s on demand player here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs-house-of-the-year
Want to discuss your grand design?
At Swain Architecture we are experts in self-build and new-build homes and have helped many clients create their dream home. Our expertise ensures:
- 1. Seamless Planning & Approval
- 2. High Quality Architectural Design
- 3. Expert knowledge of Construction and Sustainable Best Practice
If you’re considering a self-build or home extension in the East Midlands, we’d love to help you bring your vision to life. Your first step is to drop us a line.
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