King’s Grove, an elegant new house squeezed behind two Victorian terraces in Peckham, has scooped the Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) Stephen Lawrence Prize 2012 - an architecture award that recognises fresh talent and smaller construction budgets. The presentation of the award and a £5000 prize to Duggan Morris Architects took place at a dinner in Manchester this evening, hosted by BBC Radio 4’s Mark Lawson.

The Stephen Lawrence Prize, sponsored by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation, rewards the best examples of projects that have a construction budget of less than £1 million. The prize, set up in memory of the teenager who was setting out on the road to becoming an architect when he was murdered in 1993, is intended to encourage fresh talent working with smaller budgets.

Speaking about King’s Grove, the judges said:

“We were entranced by the demure entrance to this new-build all-brick house in the back lands of two Victorian terraces in Peckham.  The architects had to deal with local residents, party wall agreements and the local planning department to come up with a home that, inside and out, is practical, simple, subtle, timeless and elegant.

The house is arranged with ground floor living spaces connected to the two bedrooms by means of a simple stair and a central light-well. The maturity in layout and detailing is evident throughout, not least in the striking bespoke brass window frames recessed into the front and rear facades.  Despite this being a home for architects, there is little sign of the architect...but plenty of architecture.” 

The four other projects that were shortlisted for the 2012 Stephen Lawrence Prize are:

• Private House, Oxford by Adrian James Architects
• Private House, Kent by Hampson Williams Architects
• The Dellow Day Centre, London E1 by Featherstone Young 
• The Marquis Hotel & Restaurant, Dover by Guy Hollaway Architects

The judges were: Marco Goldschmied, Doreen Lawrence OBE and the 2011 winner of the prize, architect Phil Coffey.  

Previous winners of the Stephen Lawrence Prize include St Patrick's Primary School Library and Music Room by Coffey Architects (2011),Artists House by Gumuchdjian Architects (2010), El Ray by Simon Conder Associates (2009), Sackler Crossing by John Pawson (2008), Wooda by David Sheppard Architects (2007) and Wrap House by Alison Brooks Architects (2006).

The Architects’ Journal is media partner for the RIBA Awards and special awards and trade media partner for the RIBA Stirling Prize. The Observer is national media partner for the RIBA Stirling Prize.