The RIBA is relaunching its Manser Medal as the House of the Year Award - complete with its own four part television series
Backed by Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs programme, the new-look award includes plans for a weekly series to be aired on Channel 4 during November.
The show, named Grand Designs: RIBA House of the Year, will feature each of the 20 longlisted houses.
The list includes seven RIBA National Award-winning homes including schemes by Wilkinson King, McGonigle McGrath, and Jamie Fobert Architects.
The houses will be whittled down to just six when the shortlist is revealed during the course of the television series. However the winner will no longer be announced on the same night as the RIBA Stirling Prize.
The RIBA House of the Year longlist
Cefn Castle, Wales by Stephenson Studio
Cliff House, Wales by Hyde + Hyde
Courtyard House, London by Dallas Pierce Quintero
Dundon Passivhaus, Somerset by Prewett Bizley Architects
Fitzroy Park House, London by Stanton Williams
Flint House, Buckinghamshire by Skene Catling De La Pena
Folly Farm, Reading by Frances and Michael Edwards Architects
Grillagh Water House, Northern Ireland by Patrick Bradley Architects#
House on Church Road, Northern Ireland by Hall McKnight
House in Formby, Liverpool by ShedKM
House at Maghera, Northern Ireland by McGonigle McGrath
Kew House, London by Piercy & Company
Levring House, London by Jamie Fobert Architects
The Mill, Scotland by WT Architecture
Pobble House, Dungeness by Guy Hollaway Architects
Stackyard, Suffolk by Mole Architects
Sussex House, West Sussex by Wilkinson King Architects
Vaulted House, London by vPPR Architects
Victoria Road, Northern Ireland by Hall McKnight
Westmorland, Liverpool by Snook Architects
The new RIBA House of the Year Award will replace the Manser Medal and the prestigious award for the UK’s best home will no longer be announced on the same night as the Stirling Prize.
Created in honour of former RIBA president Michael Manser, the first Manser Medal was handed to Studio Bednarski for Merthyr Terrace in 2001.
Previous winners have included Alison Brooks’ Salt House (2007), Carl Turner Architects for the Slip House (2013), Hampstead Lane by Duggan Morris (2011) and Loyn + Co’s Stormy Castle (2014).
RIBA president Stephen Hodder, said: ‘I am delighted that Channel 4 is supporting the UK’s most prestigious and rigorously-judged prize for a new house. The series along with the prize’s new name will give even greater public understanding and clarity about the prize and its intentions – to reward and raise the bar for well-designed houses. We look forward to announcing the winner of the RIBA House of the Year in November.’
The awards jury, which is being chaired by Jonathan Manser, will include Duggan Morris’ Mary Duggan, Chris Loyn of Loyn + Co, and RIBA head of awards Tony Chapman, James Standen of Hiscox.
The winner of the prize, which is sponsored by specialist insurer Hiscox, will be revealed on 25 November.
Long live the Manser Medal: a list of previous winners
2001 Merthyr Terrace by Studio Bednarski
2002 Brooke Coombes House by Burd Haward Marston Architects
2003 Anderson House by Jamie Fobert Architects
2004 Black House by Mole Architects
2005 Stealth House by Robert Dye Architects
2006 Holly Barn by Knox Bhavan Architects
2007 Salt House by Alison Brooks Architects
2008 Oxley Woods by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
2009 The Gap House by Pitman Tozer Architects
2010 Hunsett Hill by Acme
2011 Hampstead Lane by Duggan Morris
2012 Maison L by Architecturespossibles
2013 Slip House by Carl Turner Architects
2014 Stormy Castle by Loyn + Co
Manser Medal rebrands as RIBA House of the Year
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Readers' comments (3)
Caroline Cole26 August, 2015 10:42 am
Great news that the Manser Medal has spawned a TV series! It would be nice if the Manser name continued to be associated with the new initiative.
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Paul Iddon26 August, 2015 1:44 pm
Kevin McCloud.......what exactly does the RIBA think will be promoted through this vehicle? Architecture? or architects? Has the RIBA looked at the demographics of the viewers of the channel and property programmes? I strongly suspect that this will be another example of singing to the choir:
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Paul Iddon26 August, 2015 1:51 pm
C4 has specialised in showing programming such as Grand Designs throughout the last 10 years. I that same period, architects fees - especially outside of London have plummeted by 40%. What does RIBA and C4 think will be the result of yet more programming of this sort in terms of the effect on the fortunes of architects?
Here is the typical demographic of grand designs audience:
https://yougov.co.uk/profiler#/Grand_Designs/demographics
Please notice the prime viewing demographic are those in the architecture and interior design industry. The real challenge is to target the people who are not in this demographic.
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