Spatial beauty and surprise: designing bespoke houses

Designing a bespoke house is one of the more enviable architectural commissions, as webinar chair Jan‑Carlos Kucharek pointed out at the start of a PiP webinar on the design of individual private homes.

The event featured presentations on three of the six houses shortlisted for the RIBA House of the Year 2024, including the winner, Six Columns by 31/44 Architects. All, said Kucharek, produced moments of ‘spatial beauty and surprise’ while responding to both the sites and their clients’ wishes.

First, architect Alan Power of Alan Power Architects set the scene with insights from his forthcoming book At Home in the City: Domestic Architecture for Challenging Urban Sites. Due for publication in 2026, it considers how architects work with difficult sites to reinterpret the idea of home, creating experiential spaces that transcend the limitations of their contexts. 

The book features homes drawn from across the globe. In Whitechapel, east London, Power’s practice has maximised the potential of a constrained conservation area site to create a two-storey house behind a protective perforated brick boundary wall with just a glazed lantern visible above. This presides over the main living space, which features a dramatic diagrid timber ceiling.

Power also gave a fascinating insight into two intensifications of the 20th-century typology of PH (horizontal property) houses in Buenos Aires, units with patios reached by common circulation. Kohan Ratto created PH Scalabrini Ortiz, a three-storey house on the 30m² plot of a former caretaker’s house. Another, PH Lavalleja House by Constanza Chiozza and Pedro Magnasco, includes a terrace over a neighbouring roof – both were only possible through close and clearly fruitful collaboration with neighbours.

The book is in part, says Power, ‘a provocation for the UK’ that challenges ‘conservatism’ and ‘lack of imagination’. He’d like to see a ‘fundamental change’ in the way authorities approach development.

The following three case studies showcased both rural and urban houses:

Christopher Taylor, co-founder of Taylor Hare Architects, presented The Hall, a sensitive upgrading of a Grade II*-listed, 16th-century residence and associated barns in the Kent Downs, realised over nearly eight years. He described how the practice took time to understand the history of the site before formulating its approach. This included the removal of unsympathetic additions to reveal the original structure and the thoughtful introduction of new-build elements, including a pool house and additions to link the cluster of repurposed barns. The practice opted to repair and restore where possible, while introducing gestures of craftsmanship such as handrails made by a local blacksmith. 

Hugh Strange of Hugh Strange Architects presented another rural property, Farmworker’s House, an agricultural courtyard house in the north of Cornwall. He described how the house referenced both the main farmhouse and a decade-old livestock barn. The new house is nestled opposite this barn in the far corner of a field, with a robust outer wall addressing the barn and day-to-day farm activities. At the rear, the domestic realm is arranged around the courtyard. 

The external wall is deliberately simple and robust, constructed from thick clay blocks with lime render on the outside and lime plaster inside, with a Douglas fir structured pitched metal roof on top. The longevity of the base structure contrasts with that of the internal divisions: serviced stud walls carrying lights, sockets and sensors, envisaged as changing when required. 

Set in the contrasting urban setting of Crystal Palace in south-east London, Six Columns was designed by 31/44 Architects’ William Burges as his own family home. He talked eloquently about both the self-build rollercoaster of ‘horror, terror, stress, borrowing money’ and the evolution of the design and its many references, from Peter Aldington’s Turn End house in Haddenham to Mies’ Barcelona Pavilion. Burges describes enjoying the ordinary, and designing the house to be modest with a familiar form while making a positive contribution to the city.

‘You can add a house that allows you to look back at the street and appreciate the qualities of the other existing houses,’ he says.

The idea of a house that is ‘quietly bold’ appealed, and this certainly comes through in the presentation. Carefully considered external materials include a Wienerberger brick plinth and dark, veined marble at the entrance. Inside, there is a robust interior aesthetic of exposed materials and structure – an unfinished vibe that allowed for adaptation.  

‘We wanted to see, to feel the making of the building,’ he said. 

But there is also variety, with the inclusion of more secluded ‘farmhouse’ style snug spaces.

The three case studies were interspersed with presentations from the sponsors. Clara Vicedo Peñarrubia, an architect at the international promotions department of ASCER – Tile of Spain, described the sustainability credentials (a lifespan of 50 years) and versatility of ceramics produced by its member manufacturers, whether used for facades, floors or walls. This diversity was illustrated by a succession of new-build and refurbishment case studies including RG House by Summumstudio in Madrid, where porcelain on the floor, wall and staircase contributes to the minimalist aesthetic, and GRX Architects’ Casa Isabel la Católica refurb, which makes extensive use of 10 x 10cm white tiles.

Amanda Hughes, ergonomics and ageing solutions expert at Blum, made a compelling case for designers to take heed of the rapidly ageing demographic, and design accordingly. In kitchens, for example, this includes the use of drawers rather than cupboards and effortless opening mechanisms. The current mode of kitchen, she says, doesn’t foster ageing in place.

Summing up, RIBA Journal’s Kucharek talked about the common threads of elemental simplicity and a consciousness to materiality that run through these exemplar house projects. And while all have their own complexities, the architects have clearly risen to the challenges with aplomb.