Awards

BRITAIN'S BEST HOMES - The Winners of the 2008 Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards

• View the 2007 winners

2008's Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards scheme – the premier competition for self-built, renovated or converted homes in the UK – garnered the highest ever quality of entries. Homes included everything from large traditional manor houses to imaginative remodelling schemes of much smaller properties. Choosing the winners – all of which the judging team visited in person – was not easy. Projects were judged on a range of criteria. These included:

• Level of input by the self-builders or renovators
• Design flair and creative vision
• Value for money
• Suitability of the design for the homeowners
• Overall quality of architectural design
• Quality of interior fittings and finishings
• Sensibility to the individual site and location

The winners are all outstanding examples in their individual categories. Thanks to everyone who entered. Entry for the 2009 awards is now closed, the winners will be announced in the January 2010 issue of Homebuilding & Renovating.

H&R's Home of the Year 2008 Overall Winner/ Best Contemporary Home/ Best Value for Money; Glyn and Jane Martin, Devon

This year our Overall Winner is the self-built home of Glyn and Jane Martin of Devon. It was our unanimous choice because this is a contemporary home of the finest standard, displaying close attention to detail and a brilliant awareness of how to make the most of the site — credit for which must go to Glyn and Jane’s architect daughter, Annie. Not only that, but Glyn and Jane had spent the best part of two years on site, living in the existing timber frame bungalow that their new home would eventually replace, getting involved in all aspects of the project on a DIY basis, and resulting in excellent value for money considering the quality of the project. The home also displayed excellent green credentials... Read More

A DIY Eco Self Build
Best DIY Project; Linda and Roger Brown, Sheffield

The rolling green roof of Roger and Linda Brown’s unusual self-built eco house is almost as striking as the sheer amount of work that went into getting the whole thing built. The property includes a curved sedum roof, rainwater harvesting, a heat ventilation system and extremely good insulation. Plus it's contemporary exterior was constructed using locally sourced stone. Another interesting feature of the house is its 'floating staircase' constructed of wooden treads and wires. This is just one of the modern touches in the spacious open plan layout, which is upside down... Read More

Transforming a Georgian Warehouse
Best Conversion; Henning Stummel, London

A Georgian industrial building has been turned into an awesome family home, thanks to the vision of Henning Stummel. Henning's previous project won a H&R award back in 2004, although it didn't prove popular with the planners. But he's used that project as inspiration for this one, keeping the exterior as authentic as possible, whilst creating a wide open living space in the interior, complete with an internal two storey tower which hides away storage, bathrooms and utility space... Read More

A Sustainable Self build in Devon
Best Eco House; Philip and Margaret Nierop, Devon

First-time self-builders Philip and Margaret Nierop have constructed their unique eco-friendly home on a particularly challenging site, nestled deep in the Devonshire countryside. The house is built amongst breathtaking rural scenery, and its impressive eco credentials are enclosed by ean earthy pink render and timber clad exterior. iside, exposed glulam posts and beams combine with glazing to create a striking focal point, while in the back garden, a rainwater-collection pond is served by an overhanging brise soleil which also shades the west facade... Read More

Remodelling a Terraced House
Best Renovation; Phil Coffey, London

The Victorian terrace is perhaps the most recognisable and treasured of British period properties, offering up a wealth of original features to loving, faithful restorers — but when it came to renovating their own home, Phil and Tamsyn Coffey challenged every design principle. The contemporary-style house boasts polished concrete floors that perfectly complement the industrial vibe that runs throughout the house, and dark, narrow corridors have been given a new use of life via the clever use of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and glass stair treads which reflect light around the open plan rooms... Read More

We Built a Brand New Barn Style Home
Best Traditional Home; Mel and Wendy Egglenton, Norfolk

Couple a perfectly specified home – from the windows to the individually chosen blend for the facing brick, from the oak framed interiors to the tongue-and-grooved ceilings – with an incredibly attractive design and you have that rarest of things — a new individual home on an incredibly sensitive site that is universally acclaimed as adding to its locale. The judges were particularly impressed by the quality of the design specific to a site — this is a tricky plot, with the rear of the house enjoying road frontage and views, but rather than present the village with a secondary elevation, the L-shaped scheme has created a wonderfully soft look... Read More

We've Extended and Remodelled a 1930s House
Best Extension/ Remodel; Gregory and Sarah Phillips, London

Gregory’s house won this year’s Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Award for Best Extension/Remodel because the improvements he has undertaken to the house are both perfectly designed and brilliantly executed. What impressed the judges most of all was the willingness to re-think the conventional open approach to the layout and work out something that was completely true to Gregory and his family’s individual aims. The extension has completely transformed the way that the family enjoys the house and made it much more light and, of course, spacious... Read More

I Built a Modern Home on the Sea Wall
Award for Residential Design; Robert Seymour, Devon

Sandwiched between traditional riverside houses, the newly completed Riverhouse stands within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the historic town of Dartmouth, where it quite literally hugs the bank of the River Dart. For Devon architect Robert Seymour, this uncompromisingly modern house has proved to be both a dream job and a logistical nightmare. Nothing about the project was straightforward – from gaining planning consent to constructing the technically demanding contemporary home – and stressful new challenges arose around every corner... Read More

I Built a Contemporary Lake House
Best Small Home; Jeremy Paxton, Gloucestershire

"Piers Gough said it was probably the best place in the world to build a holiday home,” says Jeremy Paxton, gazing out onto the still, reeded waters of his lake. For those not familiar with architect Piers Gough, he earned world renown for his work in the redevelopment of the London Docklands. The floorplan of this modern lake house is essentially one room, designed to be subservient to incredible views over the lake. A lounge-cum-dining room takes up most of the space, and is also used for sleeping accommodation; a small kitchenette and bathroom adjoin the space. A wraparound deck extends the living space outdoors, continuing the wooden flooring theme. Read more.

THE PRIZE

2008's Overall Winner will enjoy a fabulous break, including dinner and spa treatment, at Whatley Manor. Whatley Manor is a private Grade II listed Cotswolds Manor House hotel with an overriding aura of understated luxury and style, set within 12 acres of timeless English gardens with 26 distinct areas combining traditional and contemporary designs, nestling in the natural beauty of the Wiltshire countryside. Whatley Manor offers 15 rooms and eight suites, with two restaurants overseen by Michelin starred chef Martin Burge. Whatley Manor is a member of Relais & Châteaux, the collection of the world’s finest restaurants and hotels.
whatleymanor.com

THE MAIN SPONSOR

KdB has created sustainable insulation –– a new way of looking at home insulation through use of the global insulation system. A building which is not properly insulated loses up to a third of its heat energy through its walls alone, significantly adding to the cost of heating and tangibly increasing the property’s carbon footprint. To allow owners to protect their property to the highest standard for the longest possible time, while also preserving the environment, KdB’s global insulation system incorporates Airflex Superpose reflective thermal barriers made from a semi-rigid compound with a total nominal thickness of 10mm, which provide maximal, long-lasting insulation for all types of buildings. The Airflex components are welded together on each end and down the centre of the panel to form a semi-rigid sheath with excellent thermodynamic properties. When Airflex is combined with 120mm of glass fibre wool it achieves a U-value of 0.20, providing a lifetime of effective protection from winter cold and summer heat for year-round thermal stability.
kdb-isolation.com

• View the 2007 winners

Open the document below to view a full list of the Award Sponsors

Attachment	(click to download)
	H&R Awards Sponsors 2008.pdf