Gap House wins the Manser Medal 2009

Date:

17 October 2009

Press office contact:

Mina Vadon
T: +44 (0)207 307 3761
E: mina.vadon@riba.org

Gap House, an exceptional architect-owned private family house in west London, by Pitman Tozer Architects has won the 2009 Manser Medal in association with the Rooflight Company.

Awarded for the best one-off house or housing designed by an architect in the United Kingdom, the Manser Medal is named after Michael Manser, former president of the RIBA who is famed for his designs of seminal steel and glass houses in the 1960s; the same materials utilised in the Rooflight Company’s products.

The announcement of the Manser Medal winner was made on Saturday 17 October at a special awards ceremony for the RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects' Journal and Crystal CG at Old Billingsgate in London, introduced by Tom Dyckhoff, architecture critic for The Times newspaper. The winner was announced by Michael Manser CBE, former president of the RIBA and presented with a cheque for £5,000 by sponsor Valerie King of the Rooflight Company. The award was judged by a panel including Michael Manser; Valerie King; previous winner Ivan Harbour, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners; and Tony Chapman, RIBA head of awards.

The brief the architect set himself, as his own client, was to design a family house on a site reached through a 2.4 metre wide gap between two white stucco villas, on Monmouth Road in Bayswater. The site widens out behind the villas and was previously occupied by a cottage which had become derelict. Although from a planning point of view its existence helped, there were other problems, including its position in a conservation area with significant members of a powerful residents' association as close neighbours.

Speaking about the scheme, Michael Manser said:

“Once again the Manser Medal has been won by an intelligent, simple, practical, high-quality design that makes most of the housebuilding industry look inadequate. The design is one of impeccable detailing and simplicity in every respect. The narrow front elevation is an acme of understatement and although frankly modern, at a first glance makes almost no impact. Just a narrow column of identical half shuttered casement windows, above a basement-level entrance door, all in a background of white stucco to match the adjoining houses.’

Valerie King of the Rooflight Company said:

“Overall the most impressive aspect of the design is its level of skill, imagination and practicality in creating a series of apparently generous spaces, despite all the constraints of overlooking, conservation policies and initially hostile residents association. The result is a comfortable home in a great piece of architecture.”

The other buildings shortlisted for the award were:

Block 3, Tarling Estate Regeneration, London by S333 Architecture and Urbanism
House in Highgate Cemetery, London by Eldridge Smerin Architects
House at Piper's End, Hertfordshire by Niall McLaughlin Architects
Sliding House, Suffolk by dRMM

Notes to editors

For images and further information please contact Mina Vadon in the RIBA Press Office on 07805 173681, 020 7307 3761 or mina.vadon@inst.riba.org
Full citation follows:
Gap House Monmouth Road, LondonW2

Architect: Pitman Tozer Architects

Client: Private

Contractor: Brownstone

Structural Engineer: Richard Tant Associates

Services Engineer: Richard Pearce Associates

Contract Value: £490,000

Date of completion: August 2007

Gross internal area: 185 sq m

Once again the Manser Medal has been won by an intelligent, simple, practical, high-quality design that makes most of the housebuilding industry look inadequate. The brief the architect set himself, as his own client, was to design a family house on a site reached through a 2.4 metre wide gap between two white stucco villas, on Monmouth Road in Bayswater. The site widens out behind the villas and was previously occupied by a cottage which had become derelict. Although from a planning point of view its existence helped, there were other problems, such as its position in a conservation area with significant members of a powerful residents' association as close neighbours. The design is one of impeccable detailing and simplicity in every respect. The narrow front elevation is an acme of understatement and although frankly modern, at a first glance makes almost no impact. Just a narrow column of identical half shuttered casement windows, above a basement-level entrance door, all in a background of white stucco to match the adjoining houses. Once inside the narrow entrance hall the plan soon widens step by step, to a huge rectangular living space, one quarter of which is an open court, separated only by full-height sliding and folding glass doors. The weight of the upper four floors, also stepped back as they rise, is borne by a single, slender bright yellow steel column. At the back top corner of this space is a small first floor office which overlooks the open and covered living area. The house has a ground-sourced heat pump (which required a deep bore hole and a special drill and ingenious delivery method to cope), high levels of insulation and a rain water collection system. Overall the most impressive aspect of the design is its level of skill, imagination and practicality that has created a series of apparently generous spaces. Despite constraints of overlooking, conservation policies, an initially hostile residents’ association, difficulties of access for all trades and activities and the need to maximise light penetration, all within a tight set of planning and legal constraints – the architect has produced a comfortable home in a great piece of architecture

3. The RIBA Stirling Prize is a ‘built or designed in Britain’ prize, for which only buildings in the UK by RIBA chartered members and International Fellows, or buildings in the rest of the EU by practices whose principal office is in the UK, are eligible. The £20,000 RIBA Stirling Prize is fully funded by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation.

4. The RIBA Trust manages the cultural assets of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), including the internationally recognised collections of the British Architectural Library. It is the UK’s national architecture centre, delivering the RIBA Awards and RIBA Stirling Prize (broadcast on Channel 4); the Royal Gold Medal; International and Honorary Fellowships; RIBA partnership in architecture festivals; a full programme of lectures, exhibitions, tours and other events; and an education programme.

5. 2009 marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of the RIBA. To celebrate this milestone the Institute is holding a programme of special events throughout the year that aim to show the breadth of our activities throughout the world of architecture, and engage an even wider public and celebrate the benefits to society of good design. For further information visit www.architecture.com|