[Cob] London (cob) house wins prestigious architectural prize

[Mark Piepkorn]

London house wins prestigious architectural prize
Tuesday, 18 Oct 2005 13:31
A property in London, described as "a lesson to 
suburban house builders", has won a prestigious architectural award.

http://www.aboutproperty.co.uk/property-types/london-house-wins-prestigious-architectural-prize-$15068882.htm#

Stealth House in East Dulwich – "an ad hoc 
amalgam of pre-existing buildings with major new 
elements" – has won this year's Manser Medal, 
sponsored by Velux in association with The Best of British Homes.

Home to comedian Jenny Eclair and family, the 
five-bedroom timber-framed property beat off 
competition from three other properties, 
including Cobtun House, which is made of mud and 
straw - to win the award for the best one-off 
house designed by a UK architect.

The judges said of the house, a collaboration 
between Eclair's husband graphic designer Geof 
Powell and architects Robert Dye Associates: "The 
design makes much of a tight site, and shows how 
good architects can turn an unpromising space into a real delight.

"It provides a lesson to suburban house builders 
in how to get much more than expected from a 
standard plot, and shows how a striking 
contemporary building can be appropriate to its context."

The unusual positioning of windows offers privacy 
to the house's occupants while also providing 
them with good views of the street and letting in plenty of sunlight.

The judges added: "The details are beautifully 
executed. It has obviously been a terrific 
collaboration between a self-builder and an 
architect, and shows that doing things in a 
non-conventional way is not only possible, but 
can produce buildings of quality without high cost."

Meanwhile, Cobtun House may have missed out on 
the Manser Medal, but it did scoop this year's RIBA Sustainability Award.

The walls of Cobtun House, a one storey country 
cottage in Worcestershire, are made of cob – a 
combination of mud, straw, clay and sand - while 
the roof is formed of corrugated iron.

Sustainability is key to the house, with heating 
provided by solar panels and insulation provided by newspapers.

The judges said of the Associated Architects' 
designed house: "The outcome is inspirational and 
pleases not only the client and his family and 
friends, but is regularly visited by people keen 
to learn all about sustainable construction."

Both of the awards were made at a ceremony for 
the 10th RIBA Stirling Prize in association with 
The Architects' Journal, which was won by the 
Scottish parliament building in Edinburgh.



Mark Piepkorn
http://www.potkettleblack.com

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