The 15 shortlisted projects include houses from all over the world, from the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, to Mexico, Japan, Australia and the US
The private house occupies a unique position in both the history of architecture and human imagination. Beyond its core function of shelter, it is an object of fantasy, a source of delight, a talisman and a testing ground.AR House recognises innovation and excellence in the design of dwellings. As the one commission that virtually all architects tackle at some stage in their careers, the house is still an important rite of passage for young designers. Offering the potential for genuine innovation, it remains critical to the ferment and crystallisation of new architectural ideas.
This year’s judging panel includes three previous AR House finalists: Anna Chavepayre, co-founder of Collectif Encore and highly commended last year for the Hamra studio in Sweden; Lisa Shell, founder of Lisa Shell Architects, and commended in the AR House awards 2017 for Red Shank House in the UK, designed with sculptor Marcus Taylor; and Ard de Vries, founder of Ard de Vries Architecten, shortlisted for AR House 2017 for Country Seat Valkenberg in the Netherlands.
Entries were considered by the judges, who were looking for ingenious and pioneering houses that seek to push the type forward. Anna Chavepayre explains that ‘A house is more or less alive – like a city’, and was not looking for a ‘one-liner’, instead seeking evidence that ‘problem-solving is creative’. ‘We have been building houses for so long,’ Lisa Shell insists, ‘we don’t need to reinvent.’ She enjoyed interrogating the houses’ floor plans ‘because it tells us how people arrange their lives’. Ard de Vries, on the other hand, likes ‘when a house is specific’. ‘I always ask how the light comes in,’ he admits, ‘and whether it is where different types of people can live.’
The winner and commended projects will be announced online at the end of November and published in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of The Architectural Review.
AR House awards 2020 shortlist
Takeshi Hosaka Architects, Love2 House. Photograph: Koji Fujii
Surman Weston, Ditton Hill House. Photograph: Johan Dehlin
Shota Nakanishi Architects, Canvas for Sky. Photograph: Shinkenchiku-sha
Powerhouse Company, Villa B. Photograph: Bas Princen
Shigenori Uoya Architects and Associates, Ochaya House. Photograph: Shinkenchiku
Manuel Cervantes Estudio, Casa Avandaro. Photograph: Rafael Gamo
Credit: Rafael Gamo
dmvA, House TP. Photograph: Bart Gosselin
Credit: Bart Gosselin
Davidson Rafailidis, Big Space Little Space. Photograph: Florian Holzherr
Credit: Florian Holzherr
ADO, White Hut. Photograph: Hiroyuki Hirai
Credit: Hiroyuki Hirai
BAAQ, Casa Naila. Photograph: Edmund Sumner
Alison Brooks Architects, Windward House. Photograph: Paul Riddle
Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio, Four Leaves. Photograph: Norihito Yamauchi
Credit: Norihito Yamauchi
Partners Hill, Daylesford Longhouse. Photograph: Rory Gardiner
Peter Besley and HNNA, Couldrey House. Photograph: Rory Gardiner
Credit: Rory Gardiner
Suppose Design Office, House in Hanno. Photograph: Toshiyuki Yano
