House of the Year (over 2,500 sq ft)
Chalk River House is a new-build family home on the River Test in the Hampshire village of Houghton. Designed by Oliver Leech Architects, it is composed as a series of stepped volumes that sit comfortably within a conservation area. The street-facing wing takes a traditional pitched form, while the composition opens to the river, aligning the house with its landscape and establishing a calm, confident rural presence.
Internal gardens organise the plan: a walled kitchen garden and a fern courtyard. They draw daylight deep inside, shape circulation and preserve privacy while maintaining connection to the outdoors. Open-plan living spaces unfold towards the river for family life and hosting, with framed outlooks and multi-aspect rooms supporting light, views and cross-ventilation.
Natural materials are chosen for durability and quiet character. Handmade Roman brick, lime render and pre-weathered zinc form a restrained exterior. Inside, soft clay plaster, a muted palette and strategic openings create a tactile, tranquil atmosphere, with continuity of finishes reinforcing identity throughout.
Offsite timber-frame construction reduces waste and achieves robust insulation and airtightness. Low-carbon systems include a river-source heat pump, solar panels, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and a green roof. The strategy pursues low impact and long-term resilience, offering a thoughtful template for future countryside homes.
Judges praised the refined sequencing from arrival to riverside spaces, noting a strong initial moment and carefully choreographed views. They cited elegance and rigour in detailing, with exemplary coherence between exterior and interior materiality. Tactility, proportion and comfort were repeatedly acknowledged, alongside credible sustainability delivered with clarity. The assured response to context and overall resolution led several judges to regard it as category-leading, with some describing it as an outright winner. One judge remarked: “Exemplary response to its sensitive setting, balancing tradition and modernity with confidence and care.”
