RIBA reveals three more shortlisted structures for 2025’s House of the Year award

Following on from works by Izat Arundell and Hugh Strange Architects, the RIBA is now up to five shortlisted houses for its 2025 House of the Year award. The RIBA annual award is given to the UK’s best new home and is now in its 12th year. We take a look at the three new entries, Triangle House by Lorenzo Zandri, Amento by James Gorst Architects and Jankes Barn by Lynch Architects.

More on RIBA House of the Year 2025 at RIBA.org

Triangle House by Artefact Studio

Artefact Studio’s Triangle House, which we featured last year, is a playful but pitch-perfect take on the traditional suburban home. With an unprepossessing 1950s house as a starting point, the architects have extended the floorplan with a rear garden wing and created an explosion of colour throughout the rest of the property. Materials include triangular blue blocks and a warm yellow ceiling, with a specialist gardener creating an exterior planting scheme to add to the warm, tropical feeling.

‘The extension references the tones of the existing house and the client’s heritage, inspired by the book Caribbean Style,’ the architects say. With the expanded living space and new bathroom, alongside an office and music room, the project is a testament to the power of small, focused additions and enhancements to completely transform the character of a space.

Artefact-Studio.com, @Artefact__Studio

Amento by James Gorst Architects

This new house by James Gorst and his team occupies a plot long earmarked by the owners as a place to downsize their empty nest. The brief called for a futureproof single-story dwelling that didn’t succumb to traditional bungalow iconography and could be adapted and occupied as the owners grow older.

The accommodation is arranged around two brick walls that serve as spines for the structure. A mono-pitched roof rises up to create a voluminous living space, with revealed Douglas fir rafters, polished concrete floors and white clay bricks create a refined Scandinavian aesthetic that is warm, not austere.

Designed to age gracefully and efficiently, with low energy consumption and a clever arrangement for irrigating the clients’ precious garden, the house is a modest but very modern solution to the brief.

JamesGorstArchitects.com, @JamesGorstArchitects

Jankes Barn by Lynch Architects

From the exterior, this traditional barn in rural Essex looks much like it was before Lynch Architects undertook a sensitive but extensive restoration. The heart of this project is the original timber structure, which has been preserved and given fresh life as the focus of the full height living space.

The architects retained the original barn doors, now framing a glazed screen, while restored elements are paired with new oak insertions. The latter are left squared off and new, unlike their time-worn counterparts, with timberwork overseen by local expert and master carpenter Dr Joseph Bispham.

Other new elements incorporate original materials in a contemporary way, with a grid of bricks underfoot and a new fireplace. Bedrooms are set off the main space, with integrated bathroom pods. Outside, a new clear square pool of water, along with landscaping by the garden designer client, creates a serene relationship with nature that references and continues the history of the structure.

LynchArchitects.com, @LynchArchitects