Drawing on classical country houses and Palladio, with Mies van der Rohe restraint and order, and European style courtyards, this house sets a new English country house style, without turning to mid-century language to express itself. David Chipperfield’s Fayland house in Buckinghamshire is Architecture Review’s House of The Year. Better known for his commercial buildings, art galleries and retail stores, his architecture is all about restraint.

A loggia extends across the length of the building, enabling the main living spaces to face the expansive landscape. The floor plan is laid out enfilade, meaning all doors are laid out along a single axis, providing a vista through the entire suite of rooms. This is reminiscent of grand European houses, and a style we use a lot in retail store planning.

The palette of materials is neutral and luxe – terrazzo floors, exposed concrete ceiling, white marble bathrooms and kitchen. The rooms are lined with the same brick inside and out. The bricks are white, laid with a lime mortar of a similar tone. The technique used – the mortar applied thickly then sponged off – leaves a residue creating a sfumato effect, giving a soft, homogenous look, far from the industrial look of a regular raw brick wall. The details are sublime with nothing extraneous – skirtings, architraves and cornices are not required where junctions between surfaces align with millimetre precision. Dark metal framed windows frame the view and save the palette from feeling anodyne.

What do you think of House of the Year?
Fayland House by David Chipperfield, via Architecture Review.

The RIBA have also announced their winners for 2015, here.