Kingston Villa, Kingston Upon Thames

2024 RIBA South East Award
2024 RIBA South East Project Architect of the Year Award

Kingston Villa, Kingston Upon Thames
Fletcher Crane Architects for private client
Contract value: Confidential 
GIA: 338m²

This is an exceptional family home that evidences the outstanding skills of its project architect, working for an engaged and supportive client. Standing in a residential street in Kingston, Surrey, it replaces a bungalow that was on the site when the client bought it with the intention of demolishing and building anew. The architect entrusted with the project has created a three-storey home of great quality and consistency. Its design is inspired by features from its suburban built environment – friezes, bays, entrance porticoes and construction approach – reimagined into an architecture of today. Bold white brickwork is contrasted with bronzed window frames, metalwork panels and newly planted trees. Inside, interesting interwoven spaces include a partially double-height central hall built of the same high-quality, well-detailed white brick as the exterior, with an open-plan freestanding steel staircase. The project is a great example of attention to detail and close collaboration between client and architect.

Both the front and rear elevations take account of their relationship to the street and to Richmond Park to the rear. Large windows and balconies on the park-facing elevation link inside and outside. On the first floor and above there are views out over the garden to the park beyond, and the whole house is bright and airy without having an excess of fenestration.

The house is well crafted and thoughtful throughout. From the street, it appears quite conventional in a streetscape of very different houses. But on entering, it is beautifully organised with its double-height spaces, balconies, and interlocking rooms – all testament to a close and respectful relationship between client and architect.

The client commented to the jury that the architects had ‘produced a clever but practical design to make the best of our site based around a modern take on a Victorian villa and the end result is a stylish, modern house which is homely and comfortable to live in. It looks quite simple from the outside but there is a wealth of rich detail in the views, natural light, landscaping, and features that we enjoy from inside the building.’

The project architect, Harry Insall-Reid, has been awarded RIBA South East Project Architect of the Year for his in-depth understanding of all aspects of the project and his care to ensure excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail, as well as the overall form and layout.

See the rest of the RIBA South East winners here. And all the RIBA Regional Awards here

To see the whole RIBA Awards process visit architecture.com

RIBA Regional Awards 2024 sponsored by EH Smith and Autodesk