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Award-winning Warwickshire property, the Ghost House, is up for sale

Peek inside this contemporary home...

An award-winning detached home in Warwickshire has just entered the property market for £2,250,000.

Since the property was finished in 2018, the Ghost House, as it is known, has received awards and acclaim and we can easily see why. It won the 2019 RIBA award and was shortlisted for the 2019 Grand Designs House of the Year. It was also chosen as one of the top 10 houses of 2019, worldwide, by Dezeen.

The 3m high black steel front door of the property is accessed by descending a concrete staircase, located between eye-catching black pools, to the subterranean level.

Consisting of three bedrooms , three bathrooms and two living spaces, this modern home for sale is perfect for entertaining friends and family. From the plush cinema room to the private courtyards, this is a property to show off.

A set of folded-steel staircases take you up to the master bedroom with its own en-suite bathroom and accompanying walk-in wardrobes . You could even create an extra bedroom by dividing the large additional upstairs space into two.

On the main level, a vast open plan kitchen/dining/living room has been designed around a considerable central kitchen island . This space also overlooks another sunken courtyard with more entertaining space. It's perfect for enjoying a glass of wine outside or dining alfresco when the weather permits.

Constructed with poured in-situ concrete, matt black steel and glass, this is a dream space for fans of modern interiors. Floor-to-ceiling windows let daylight flow in, while at night, lighting recessed into the concrete adds a dramatic flair. This is also the case with the upper floor lighting, reflecting into the inky black pools at the front at night.

Located around eight miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Leamington Spa, you'll find the exclusive private members' club, Soho Farmhouse in Chipping Norton, approximately 22 miles away, with the Cotswolds a short distance to the south of the property. And for commuters, there is easy access to two main motorways as well as an intercity train service.

The property is currently on the market for £2,250,000 via Knight Frank .

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The RIBA Award–Winning Ghost House Lists for £2.5M

The Ghost House by BNP Architects made quite a splash after it debuted in December 2018. Located northwest of London in Warwickshire, England, the brutalist concrete residence quickly won a 2019 award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and was also shortlisted for the 2019 Grand Designs House of the Year Show. It was the home's uncompromisingly simple palette of materials, as well as its subterranean level hidden by reflection pools along the roof, that captivated the judges. 

Lining the roof of a subterranean section, two reflection pools provide a canvas for reflecting the structure's concrete and glass form. A walkway divides the color-dyed water, ending at a staircase that leads down into a sunken courtyard.

Inspired by the work of Japanese architect and concrete master Tadao Ando, the home's owner tasked BNP Architects with creating one of only a few cast-in-place concrete homes in the United Kingdom. The final design occupies the original sunken garden of a demolished country house, creating a partially sunken interior bounded by private courtyards.

The stairs lead down to a nearly 10-foot high black steel front door. The home was recently selected to take part in a series on design for the 21st Century presented by the Chicago Museum of Architecture.

The RIBA Award Committee described the design as "challenging the very notion of house," noting that "the simple palette of concrete and black detailing produces dynamic and brutal spaces." The committee also commented on the home's many unique details: "The in situ concrete was carefully cast [to include] all the sockets and light fittings, as well as consider the formwork, and the end result is a startling interior. The careful consideration of sand for the concrete mix gives the finish a surprising warmth."

The courtyard is surrounded on three sides by floor-to-ceiling glass. 

Exposed concrete along the interior and exterior walls is contrasted with the exclusive use of matte black steel and glass. Inside, column-free living spaces are accented by recessed lighting strips and illuminated by floor-to-ceiling windows. A two-story wall of glass runs the length of the rear facade, with the upper and lower levels connected by a full-width void in the concrete. Offering nearly 5,500 square feet of interior space, the three-bedroom home was recently listed for sale with an asking price of just over $3,000,000. Keep scrolling to see more of the interior.

The entrance leads into the kitchen, past opposing staircases that lead up to the bedrooms. 

Strips of recessed lighting run along the ceiling and down the walls. The kitchen is made of a monumental island stretching along the center of the space.

The RIBA Award Committee described the two black steel staircases as "reminiscent of the staircases of country houses that swept up from the hall to the piano noble."

Steel-and-glass doors open up onto the rear courtyard patio. The two-story wall of glass dramatically illuminates the interior space.

A dining area sits in a corner opposite the kitchen.

Upstairs, the master bedroom is encased in a concrete box, illuminated largely by natural light from several skylights placed around the room.

The home also offers a lush theater room.

Outside, large retaining walls bound the rear courtyard on three sides. A reflecting pool runs around the perimeter of the patio.

In contrast to the barely visible front facade, the rear of the home reveals its cavernous interior.

The Ghost House, located in Moreton Morrell, Warwick, United Kingdom, is currently listed for £2,500,000 (approximately $3,151,050) by Nick Rudge and Sophie Gannon of Savills.

Project Credits:

Architecture: BNP Architects

Contracting:  Jon Johnstone Construction

Structural Engineering: Webb Yates and Design2e

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Grand Designs ghost houses... the abandoned builds left to rot and the families torn apart

Channel 4's Grand Designs has seen some epic builds - while others have been left derelict and trashed by vandals and squatters

• 19:30, 23 Oct 2019

In its 20-year history, Channel 4's Grand Designs has seen hundreds of people achieve their dreams with breaktaking builds.

But not all the projects covered by host Kevin McCloud have a happy ending.

Cash flow problems, planning battles and unexpected pregnancies are all par for the course on the show.

But occasionally, the hurdles prove to be insurmountable, leaving amateur developers divorced, destitute and devastated.

So what happens to the houses left to rot and decay after the cameras stop rolling?

From the luxury homes trashed by vandals and squatters to the projects that tore families apart, here's what came next...

The Dome House

The futuristic eco-mansion was branded “awe-inspiring” by host Kevin McCloud.

But it appeared to hit upon hard times in 2016 when locals feared it had been abandonned.

The gardens of the ultra-modern, seven-bedroom house looked scruffy and overgrown and there was no sign of the visionary proprietor, architect and owner Robert Gaukroger.

He spent two years building the unique property in the hillside above Bowness-in-Windermere at a cost of £1million in 2011.

But he reportedly got locked into an eight-year dispute with a neighbour and decided to move back down south to study at university.

He tried to sell the luxury home for £2.3million in 2015, before dropping the price to £1.45million months later.

They eventually sold to Yvonne Malley - an anonymous donor who'd stumped up the cash to save the build five years earlier when the credit crunch left Gaukroger with a half-finished house.

Gaukroger said: “She said it was clear this was my dream and she wanted to help.”

Yvonne and her family renovated the dilapidated property and now run it as a luxury guest house which has top reviews on Trip Advisor.

The Eco-Barge

Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Lai were shown in 2007 renovating a ramshackle houseboat in Essex using recycled materials.

The couple planned to move out of London and enjoy life afloat with their two children.

But the £80,000 scheme, called the Medway Eco-barge, ran into problems and their 100ft boat was left moored unfinished in the Thames estuary near Southend.

It became a target for vandals and squatters and broke free from its moorings in 2011 before being found washed up on a beach.

Steve Morgan, 29, from the nearby Barge Cafe, said: "I did not know what it was at first. Then I saw the roof and realised it was the boat from Grand Designs - it looked very strange just sat there opposite our cafe.

"The boat had been up the coast for a couple of years now - it's a bit tatty to be honest with you."

Owner Chris Miller later said they'd been hoping to resurrect the project, but the £70,000 worth of damage caused by vandals and teenagers throwing parties meant it was no longer a viable option.

The Lighthouse

In an episode which Grand Designs viewers branded the 'saddest yet', developer Edward White revealed his attempts to build his dream home cost him his money and his marriage.

The build on Chesil Cliff House in Croyde, Devon, started in 2011, but the £1.8million White borrowed for the project soon ran out.

He constructed a smaller neighbouring property called The Eye in the hope of selling it to raise revenue, but was unable to put it on the market due to the building site next door.

Now £3million in debt, he needs another £2million to complete the half-finished home and admitted that once it's done he'll have to sell it immediately to pay back his creditors.

And the pressure of the project, coupled with what White called his 'ambition and vanity', ultimately ended his marriage to wife Hazel.

"The whole project has been a horrendous strain for Hazel, I have sunk our family purse into this and I really feel for her.  I never meant to put her through any of this," he told Devon Live.

White now says he's on the cusp of securing the money to finish the job and predicts it could be completed as early as next September.

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Grand Designs House of the Year contenders: Kevin McCloud visits brutalist 'Ghost House' and a futuristic Bond-style lair among RIBA award contenders

Just when you thought Kevin McCloud really had seen it all on Grand Designs , this week's closing instalment of House of the Year throws into the mix some of the quirkiest and most extraordinary homes yet.

There's a gigantic timber wedge-shaped home carved into a sloping hillside in Devon; a modernist Arts & Crafts stable conversion in Wales and a brutalist, sunken concrete pile in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In London we visit a futuristic James Bond-style lair which took a marathon five years to build; and a miniature modernist mansion which has been squeezed into a tiny garden plot and dramatically crowned with a sculptural copper cone-shaped roof.

What this eclectic group of properties have in common, according to presenter Kevin McCloud, architect Damion Burrows and design expert Michelle Ogundehin — who visit each of the homes featured on tonight's show — is immaculate craftsmanship and an inspired use of natural and sustainable construction materials.

These homes have already bagged themselves regional awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects ( RIBA ) and by the end of the episode, which airs on Wednesday November 13 on Channel 4 at 9pm, one of them will be named as the UK's best new home.

The five contenders

1. the ghost house, stratford-upon-avon.

Most of this brutalist concrete home is below ground, built into the sunken garden of a now-demolished country house in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The layout provides a simple symmetrical plan, while two black steel staircases lead to the main bedroom, which is also constructed entirely of concrete and lit only by roof lights.

Inspired by the work of Japanese architect Tadao Ando, it is lit by a series of different-sized courtyards, with the vast main living space spanning the full length of the house.

In stark contrast, the minimalist interior opens out to a large courtyard with small reflecting pools and cherry trees.

2. Kenwood Lee House, London

In Highgate, a marathon five-year build has created an exceptional modernist, hi-tech home described by the RIBA judges as a fitting hideaway for both a Bond villain or the peerless secret agent himself.

Young married architects, Cousins & Cousins, designed the home to fit in with the surrounding conservation area: a property with a front exterior similar to the neighbour’s, incorporating a nod to the local Arts and Crafts vibe, with the use of elegant modern bricks and a seamed zinc roof creating simple lines.

Yet the house is a tale of two halves, with a striking, glassy, modern box at the rear that is invisible from the street.

The ground-level glass extension provides extra living space, while a swimming pool and cinema room were dug out underneath.

3. House in a Garden, London

In the back garden of a 19th-century townhouse, this deceptively spacious home was squeezed on to the tiny former site of a run-down Sixties bungalow. The original, complicated plot was overshadowed by houses on three sides as well as by a large plane tree in the garden.

The boundary was so awkward and tight that 3D modelling techniques were used to test the viability of the single-storey pavilion-style structure that was planned for the pocket-sized garden.

Crowning the modernist building is a sculptural copper roof which rises up in the centre of the living room, allowing a funnel-shaped cone of sunlight to flood the space.

Grooved panels of grey Carrara marble and Douglas fir timber add luxury and texture throughout.

The RIBA judges said: "The building offers a clever response to a unique set of circumstances, where natural light has been enthusiastically embraced to inform and direct the development of an accomplished piece of architecture ."

4. The Green House, Devon

This quirky timber home has the appearance of a huge triangular wedge built into a sloping, tree-lined hillside in rural Devon.

Its green roof sweeps down above the main double-height living space of the house, which is deliberately perched at tree height and framed by floor-to-ceiling glass at branch level, overlooking a natural swimming lake.

Devon-based architect David Sheppard has championed local materials in its construction, with larch cladding from the surrounding estate used to envelope the structure, allowing the house to blend seamlessly into its tranquil rural setting. Bat boxes are integrated on the side.

Inside, Scandi-chic meets country lodge styling in three bedrooms, five bathrooms and a cosy snug room stretching out across the lower floor.

"This house abounds with character and personality. A masterful play of shaping with land, trees and water that might well prove to be timeless," said the RIBA judges.

5. Silver How, Llanhennock, Wales

Named after a Cumbrian peak, Silver How is a five-bedroom family home in Monmouthshire surrounded by protected oak trees.

The design links a converted Arts and Crafts-style stable to a new three-storey home set at a right angle.

Built in local red sandstone and wrapped in sliding glass panels, the structure blends in with the landscape and is flooded with light

The final episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on Wednesday 13 November.

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Standout Concrete, Steel and Glass House in Warwickshire, England, Asks £2.5 Million

Ghost house offers a contemporary look in an area known for more traditional architecture, newsletter sign-up, week in review.

Shares the stories you may have missed from the world of luxury real estate

Contemporary homes built with concrete, black steel and glass are typically pictured nestled up in the Hollywood Hills of California, or perhaps overlooking the ocean in Malibu.

Less often are they expected in rural English villages, but that’s the case with the mysteriously named Ghost House, a modern property on the market in Warwickshire for £2.5 million (US$3.2 million).

More:   Tax Levy for Foreign Buyers Announced in Coronavirus-Focused U.K. Budget

To come into existence, Ghost House, which has been on the market since Friday with Savills, won planning permission under Paragraph 55 of the National Planning Policy.

Paragraph 55 is a special clause in planning policy introduced in 1997 that allows new homes of exceptional architectural design to be built in otherwise restricted areas such as rural villages, national parks, and designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Spanning 5,500 square feet, the sunken three-bedroom, concrete-covered space sits somewhere on the style-spectrum between brutalist and industrial.

The home is reached by crossing between two pools, descending a set of concrete stairs to a subterranean courtyard and passing through a three-meter high black steel front door.

It has high ceilings throughout, and lighting recessed into the exclusively concrete walls and ceilings adds to the drama of the space, according to the listing. 

From Penta:   Giorgio Armani Donates €1.25 Million to Coronavirus Efforts, as Italy Locks Down

Listing images also show a home cinema, a minimalist living and kitchen area with a commanding black marble island, courtyards and skylights.

“Rarely have I had the chance to market such an inspiring home,” listing agent Nick Rudge said in a statement.

Completed in December 2018, the house has been met with acclaim.

It won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects [RIBA]; was featured on the front cover of the RIBA Journal; got shortlisted for the 2019 Grand Designs House of the Year Show; was chosen by Dezeen as one of the top-10 houses of 2019 worldwide; and has been chosen to feature in an exhibition held at the Chicago Museum of Architecture as a house which helps redefine architecture for the 21st century, the listing said.

Mansion Global could not determine the owner of the home.

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Grand Designs ghost houses... the abandoned builds left to rot

View the builds which are now left derelict

• 19:39, 27 OCT 2019

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In its 20-year history, Channel 4's Grand Designs has seen hundreds of people achieve their dream home with some truly breathtaking builds.

But not all the projects covered by host Kevin McCloud have a happy ending, reports the Mirror.

Cash flow problems, planning battles and unexpected pregnancies always spring up as hurdles participants have to jump over to achieve their epic build during the show.

But occasionally, the problems prove to be insurmountable, leaving developers divorced, destitute and devastated.

So what happens to the houses left to rot and decay after the dream fails?

From the luxury homes trashed by vandals and squatters to the projects that tore families apart, here's what came next...

The Dome House

The futuristic eco-mansion was branded “awe-inspiring” by host Kevin McCloud.

But it appeared to hit upon hard times in 2016 when locals feared it had been abandonned.

The gardens of the ultra-modern, seven-bedroom house looked scruffy and overgrown and there was no sign of the visionary proprietor, architect and owner Robert Gaukroger.

He spent two years building the unique property in the hillside above Bowness-in-Windermere at a cost of £1million in 2011.

But he reportedly got locked into an eight-year dispute with a neighbour and decided to move back down south to study at university.

He tried to sell the luxury home for £2.3million in 2015, before dropping the price to £1.45million months later.

He eventually sold to Yvonne Malley - an anonymous donor who'd stumped up the cash to save the build five years earlier when the credit crunch left Gaukroger with a half-finished house.

Gaukroger said: “She said it was clear this was my dream and she wanted to help.”

Yvonne and her family renovated the dilapidated property and now run it as a luxury guest house which has top reviews on Trip Advisor.

The Eco-Barge

Chris Miller and his wife Sze Liu Lai were shown in 2007 renovating a ramshackle houseboat in Essex using recycled materials.

The couple planned to move out of London and enjoy life afloat with their two children.

But the £80,000 scheme, called the Medway Eco-barge, ran into problems and their 100ft boat was left moored unfinished in the Thames estuary near Southend.

It became a target for vandals and squatters and broke free from its moorings in 2011 before being found washed up on a beach.

Steve Morgan, 29, from the nearby Barge Cafe, said: "I did not know what it was at first. Then I saw the roof and realised it was the boat from Grand Designs - it looked very strange just sat there opposite our cafe.

"The boat had been up the coast for a couple of years now - it's a bit tatty to be honest with you."

Owner Chris Miller later said they'd been hoping to resurrect the project, but the £70,000 worth of damage caused by vandals and teenagers throwing parties meant it was no longer a viable option.

The Lighthouse

In an episode which Grand Designs viewers branded the 'saddest yet' , developer Edward White revealed his attempts to build his dream home cost him his money and his marriage.

The build on Chesil Cliff House in Croyde, Devon, started in 2011, but the £1.8million White borrowed for the project soon ran out.

He constructed a smaller neighbouring property called The Eye in the hope of selling it to raise revenue, but was unable to put it on the market due to the building site next door.

Now £3million in debt, he needs another £2million to complete the half-finished home and admitted that once it's done he'll have to sell it immediately to pay back his creditors.

And the pressure of the project, coupled with what White called his 'ambition and vanity', ultimately ended his marriage to wife Hazel.

"The whole project has been a horrendous strain for Hazel, I have sunk our family purse into this and I really feel for her.  I never meant to put her through any of this," he told Devon Live.

White now says he's on the cusp of securing the money to finish the job and predicts it could be completed as early as next September.

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For the latest news in and around Bristol, you can check back on  Bristol Live's homepage .

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Design in the making

How bpn's ghost house finally materialised.

Nightclub owner's 10-year battle to get an individual contemporary house past Warwickshire planners

The story of what is happening in Stratford-upon-Avon planning district is worrying. In recent years areas of Warwickshire have, like other rural councils, seemingly adopted an obstructive approach to new homes that aren’t part of huge development sites, including on the former airfield at Wellesbourne and outskirts of Leamington Spa (opposite the Vitsoe factory ). The council has to build 14,600 homes and it looks like it has decided that the people who need them want to live in identikit ones on large housebuilder estates accessible primarily by car and lacking facilities. There's the feeling in the architectural community that some of the recommendations of local design review panel  MADE are being sidelined for one reason or another with (a near-universal complaint nationwide) large obtrusive estates by volume housebuilders being approved while unobtrusive individual homes get a rough ride.  

The issue is exemplified in the village of Moreton Paddox, eight miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon. From its position on an elevated plateau, it is possible to see two miles away the 1,600 glaringly new, bright red Noddy houses going up at Wellesbourne. The village itself, however, is relatively new and unusual too. It occupies the site of a former manor by the same name completed in 1915 by WH Romaine-Walker for the Garland family of Moreton Morrell Hall nearby. The family was ruined by the Second World War and the house demolished in 1959 before the land was sold off as smaller private plots, each taking a section of the original ornamental gardens with them.

Consequently, Moreton Paddox is primarily a hamlet of one-off 1960s houses, spaced out around the original grand U-shaped approach to the manor. Newer infill houses of eclectic post-war styles have been built since, creating a very suburban setting with open front lawns; from ground-scraping futurism to 1980s mock Tudor and early 2000s neo-arts & crafts. Many of the first homes are now also being revamped with more contemporary facings – white render with expansive aluminium framed glazing and bifolding doors. This makes the village interesting because it depicts seemingly every fashion for domestic architecture since 1959 like pages from a history book.

But building here from scratch is tough now – as Leamington nightclub owner Steve Smith found out in 2003 when he bought one of Moreton Paddox’s 1980s executive-style homes that came with two redundant outbuildings on the plot opposite. His intention was to first convert those into simple dwellings before rebuilding the house. However, what looked to him like a straightforward, unobjectionable job in an aesthetically incongruous modern neighbourhood, wasn’t. Planning approval was refused multiple times. As they couldn’t get permission for straight up conversion they eventually went down the exceptional Paragraph 55 route for the outbuildings site instead. Smith taught himself SketchUp, hired Birmingham-based BPN Architects and after tens of thousands of pounds, multiple inspectors, 10 years of wrangling and still dozens of objections, got a scheme through planning for a mirrored floating volume that cantilevered over the 3.5m slope of the plot.

That was eight years ago. Yet The Ghost House present today is very different from the one that received approval. Having fallen out of love with the project, Smith parked it before going back a year later with fresh ideas – this time for full concrete after Tadao Ando. Interior designer Adrian Baynes from Baynes&Co, who had worked with Smith on his bars, came up with the basic premise of the plan – a somewhat Japanese semi-buried building and an external stair into a sunken courtyard to welcome you. 

Construction started one year ago with BPN Architects who reworked the plan and the building is now complete – more symmetrical than before and larger, but still barely visible from the lane, tucked as it is behind a neighbouring generic red brick outbuilding on its L-shaped plot. Only the new black-painted horizontal fencing leads you round. From there the house – an apparently single storey concrete framed gridded box – spreads across the width of the site, introduced by two pools of water either side of a concrete walkway. In the middle a concrete-lined hole, like an empty swimming tank, plunges you down a stair into the courtyard at the project’s primary level.

Ahead, the front door leads into a concrete column-free living space with recessed strip lighting, a single kitchen worktop and another vast grid glazed wall onto another, bigger, sunken courtyard. On the back wall two facing stairs in black steel lead to the master bedroom, forming an intriguing sculptural V-shaped set piece. A perimeter corridor sweeps around the entrance court­yard at lower level, leading to two guest bedroom suites with further courtyards of their own and a cinema room across the far side. Upstairs, the master bedroom has a bathroom cut out of the rectangular plan on one side and a walk-in wardrobe directly opposite. Like many rooms in the house, it is lit only by rooflights. It’s a curious design that, unusually for a Paragraph 55 house, makes little attempt to engage with surrounding views. 

Rather, The Ghost House is highly urban materially and spatially and is more about recreating the loft living experience its owner had in Leamington. The project has been well executed and is – another reflection of its owner – astonishingly ambitious as well as daring and outrageous in an area that is shot through with false conservatism. The plan is slightly strange, as is the lack of vertical windows that overlook the landscape and village, which might not have been the case if there had been only one designer, but we need buildings like this in places like this and up against councils like this - it was longlisted for House of the Year too. Therefore it’s good news that BPN and the client haven’t been put off and are already working on two more new houses in Moreton Paddox.

Yet the project took years and enormous financial and legal power. Obstructive attitudes are making interesting bespoke contemporary architecture the preserve of the risk-takers and very wealthy, while the rest of us must live down the hill in Wellesbourne. 

Client Steve Smith  Architect BPN Architects Structural engineer Webb Yates  Concrete contractor Jon Johnstone Construction M&E Greenways  Concrete Smiths Concrete Waterproofing CETCO Windows Monk Metal 

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From a concrete 'ghost' property to a grown-up 'treehouse' made from mouldy wood, these are the final 'finely crafted' contenders for Grand Designs: House of the Year

• Five homes in running for House of the Year 2019 revealed on Grand Designs which airs tonight on Channel 4
• Includes a three-bedroom 'treehouse' and family home in Devon made almost entirely from wood
• One stunning home is the stunning subterranean Notting Hill townhouse with a structured copper roof 
• Comes ahead of the winner of the House of the Year award being crowned in tonight's episode 

By Harriet Johnston For Mailonline

Published: 11:47 EDT, 13 November 2019 | Updated: 13:06 EDT, 13 November 2019

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From a supernatural looking ghost house to a modern family treehouse, Kevin McCloud has revealed five homes created with ingenious craftsmanship that are contenders for Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) House of the Year award.

In Grand Designs: House of the Year, which airs tonight on Channel 4, Kevin and his co-presenters, architect Damion Burrows, and design expert Michelle Ogundehin, visit five homes crafted with exceptional use of material battling it out for a place on the shortlist, all of which push the boundaries in conventional design.

Over the past three weeks he's revealed which houses the RIBA judges have put through to the shortlist, and in tonight's episode he discovered the final five houses in the running for the prize, as well as the winner of this prestigious prize.

Tonight's unique properties include a clever 'treehouse' created entirely from wood, in Devon, as well as a subterranean townhouse in Notting Hill. 

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The concrete 'Ghost House' is one of five homes which features on Grand Designs: House of the Year, which airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4

One of the stunning homes featured on the programme is Kenwood Lee house, in London, which was compared to a Bond Villain's lair on the show for it's exceptional basement and glass exterior 

Meanwhile another of the homes is the incredible 'Green House', which is compared to a modern tree house in the programme due to it's exceptional use of wood 

Another of the homes is the stunning Silverhow, in Monmouth, which saw a modern home built in local material to blend in with the landscape, which is connected to a small outhouse converted into a modern kitchen 

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Green House

The Green House, in Devon, is a jolly wooden wedge with a timber interior, and is now home to Jessica, her husband Jason and their two children.

It was built on the site of a wooden prefab which was given to Jessica shortly before her father died.

She revealed: 'Just before my father died he gave me the house and the surrounding fields.'

Jason added: 'In the early stage of the design process, he was involved.'

The Greenhouse, in Devon, was build into the landscape on a site gifted to homeowner Jessica by her late father shortly before he passed away 

The architect wanted to create something to fit the landscape, which was quite tree-house like.

But unlike a traditional treehouse, Green House has been built on 30 concrete piles to stop it sliding down the slope.

The house has a TV room, open-plan living and dining room, and four bedrooms, as well as a double height space looking down onto the dining area.

The house is a light and elegant space, with the main middle floor of the house is a wedge of the room which opens out into a huge 247 degree window. 

The house features an enormous window running through the centre, creating a kind of 'glass jam' to the house, and giving the home the sense of 'being in the treetops'

Michelle said: 'You really get the sense of being up in the treetops.'

The ceiling part gives way to a void which goes straight to the top of the building, creating an interconnected network of houses upstairs.

The glazed middle floor cuts across the building in a house sandwich.

The house is flooded with light, with the corner windows in every bedroom giving incredible views of the surrounding woodland.  

The project was compared to a modern day tree house on the programme, and was created with various different types of wood 

The RIBA jury said it was selected because it 'abounds with character and personality'.

The architect behind the project, David Shepherd, said he was enthused with wood, saying: 'Wood is the best sustainable material we have on a building. We minimised the steel and concrete and maximised on the wood.'

From oak flooring to birch plywood shelving and stairs from an old beech tree, as well as the timber clad exterior, the home’s personality is crafted with to reflect their love of wood, with the couple using the material everywhere they could. 

The builders revealed they used eight  miles of timber on the buildings, which they spent three months cutting and fixing to create the exterior of the home. 

Builders used eight miles of timber cladding for the home's exterior and decorations inside, with light flooding into the home with well-placed windows 

And the owners tried to use as much sustainably source wood as possible, with Jessica saying: 'About five years ago, we had a big storm down here and two big beech trees fell down at my parents house down the road, and my parents said take it away and dry it, and you might be able to use it in your house.'

The wood was stored for three years, and overtime it began to mould. 

While that doesn't sound appealing in a home, once the fungal infection dies, it leaves behind a delightful pattern of markings on the wood, which can be enhanced with oil.

The home, which is built into the side of a slight incline, both honours Jessica's father's legacy and hails to the family's love of the natural surroundings 

The resulting stairs and table form the centrepiece of the home and are a link to Jess' father, with Jess revealing: 'It was so important to him.'

Jason added: 'It's a shame he didn't get to see the finished article.'

The grown-up treehouse honours her father's legacy and hails their love of wood, creating a home that is completely at one with nature.

Modern home meets ancient outhouse 

The Silverhow house is comprised of an ancient coach house and a modern barn-like structure which are interconnected with a glass bridgeway (pictured, owners Emma and David with their stunning home)

The stunning Silverhow house in Monmouth was praised by the RIBA judges for the way the L shaped home combines an ancient brick barn with a chic modern structure.  

Owners Emma and David, and their daughters Grace and Charlotte, wanted a modern family house, but they also wanted to create something which looked as if it belonged in the environment. 

David said the couple had wanted something chic and modern, but conceded: 'It's not California, it needs to sit in the plot.'  

The smaller white brick structure was an old coach house that was built on the land in 1905.   

The couple were determined to create a family home which could settle nicely into the local surroundings in Monmouth and which wouldn't feel out of place

The old house house has a tile roof but was made from painted stone, while the larger property has a steel roof but was made from local stone. 

And even Kevin admitted he couldn't figure out which was the younger or older building.  

David said: 'Even though they're vastly different materials it really looks right.'

The RIBA judges liked the way the house combined lightness and transparency of modern construction with craftsmanship of Monmouthshire stone. 

The new part of the detail has three levels, including a double height living space, while the second floor has three bedrooms for the family and upstairs are two guest rooms.

Despite the home's modest exterior, inside the house is bright and modern, and filled with local materials including Monmouth stone 

Meanwhile the older coach house has been converted into a large living space, with the couple removing a floor to create an incredible vaulted kitchen. 

Kevin was amazed, saying: 'This is lovely and refreshing and spacious.' 

The couple have decadent amounts of glass to 'experience the magic' of the outside in and the inside out, with a sliding wall for their living area. 

The living room connects upwards as well as out, with walk ways leading to their daughter's bedrooms, which are linked by a shared bathroom and dressing room.

Kevin called the house 'astonishingly nice'.

The oak trees which frame the views are all subject to root protection orders and dictated the way the house could be built.

To avoid damaging the roots, a system of matting was laid over the site and topped with aggregate, resulting in a 100% tree survival rate, and a house nestled amoungst the oaks as though it had always been there. 

Concrete 'Ghost' House 

The incredible Ghost House in Warwickshire is finely crafted from steel and concrete, with a sunken entrance, and black pools to reflect it's 

In Warwickshire, Ghost House, finely crafted from concrete and steel, seems to be peeking out at its neighbours as though about to say 'boo'.

The owner, nightclub and bar entrepreneur, Steve, who is a big fan of concrete, said: 'It's completely opposite to the rest of the street, always meant to be a very simple palette of concrete and black steel.'

Steve's pared-back vision has produced a highly-crafted and unnerving wall ordered house, reflected in pools of water dyed black. 

He said: 'It was initially going to be a wild meadow, but by it's very nature it would be wild and unruly and out of my control.'

Nightclub and bar entrepreneur Steve was determined to create a stunning home from concrete and steel, and recruited a young architect Philip Shepherd to help hone his vision 

His need to control his environment is evident in the perfectly symmetrical layout, with the straight board markings laid out in the concrete. 

The main floor of the ghost house is below ground level, and above is the master bedroom and dressing room.

There's a sunken entrance courtyard, with two smaller subterranean bedrooms and a cinema,.

It's wall to wall concrete and symmetry throughout, with saying: 'It isn't overkill, there is a passion for concrete, and it doesn't feel totally brutal, it feels like a home.' 

The home features several storeys below ground level, including this stunning concrete garden space, which features several pools of dyed black water 

Steve gave himself a cinema room as well as two spare bedrooms dedicated to his collection of his rare trainers.

He said: 'My friends love it, my mother walked out when she saw it and asked when i was going to grow up.'

The master bedroom has also been designed so that it could be split into two spaces.

Steve enlisted architect Philip Shepherd, who revealed: 'It was my first real project out of university.'

At night, the concrete Ghost House comes alive, like an optical illusion, with the reflection in the dyed black waters of the pools 

Steve revealed he almost opted for a meadow of wildflowers instead of the deep black pools, but was pleased he opted for the 'controlled' water

Bond Villain's lair

Kenwood Lee, in London, may appear relatively normal from the outside, but it features a stunning glass back and incredible subterranean basement 

The Bond villain's lair Kenwood Lee house, may appear like a fairly traditional home from the outside, but the interiors, as well as the back of the home, tell a completely different story.

While it reflects proportions of double fronted neighbours, the back is finished with an immaculate glass box.

The judges admired the skill and enthusiasm with which expensive and exotic materials have been used throughout.

Jomac, a builder, and his wife Ivona, built up their business from nothing after arriving in the UK from Poland. 

The couple who built the home, Jomac and Ivona, put their heart and soul into building the property, and remortgaged their business premises in order to fund the project

He now employees over 100 people, with his firm working on the house in the garden, one of the other nominees in the category. 

But he has now finally managed to make time to build the house of his own. 

Damion called it a 'stunning house' saying: 'The thing that stands out from the street is the choice of materials. The care can be seen in the junctions of materials, the glass dormas and the tiniest brass details.' 

The couple's home manages to reflect the proportions of double fronted neighbours, but with added modern features including huge glass windows and dormers 

The couple everything on the line to built the home by remortgaging their business premises to finance the project, but the results have been worth it.

Jomac said: 'It is a lot of details and it is a lot of late nights, designing, changing.'

The interior is a joyous celebration of perfectly selected materials. With a house this size, the concrete middle could be dark, but they cut out various bits of floor to connect the house with a floating staircase and bridges. 

The back of the home is made almost entirely from glass, allowing light to flood into the building, while a huge basement including a spa, gym and sunken car port, drew comparison's to a Bond villain's lair 

The basement also houses the gym, spa and sunken car port straight out of a Jame's Bond villain's lair. 

Ivona revealed she had thought about selling the home, revealing: 'Last night we had two agents call offering to sell it and I have to say it was quite tempting.'

But Jomac couldn't help but get emotional at the thought of leaving the house, admitting: '[They were] offering ridiculous money...but we didn't take it.' 

House in a garden  

The secret subterranean Notting Hill townhouse is tucked away between rows of traditional terraces in the upmarket London suburb.

The spot used to have a 60s bungalow on it but when it came onto the market, it caught the eye of architect Gianni Botsford, who lives upstairs.  

He said: 'After 15 years we found it came up for sale, and thought we should really do something about it.'  

The copper funnel-like roof rises between the houses that surround it on all sides,  with Kevin calling it 'glorious'.  

The funnel is the tip of a three storey mainly subterranean home, with the lowest level eight metres below the ground.

It has a yoga room, a living space as well as a swimming pool on the bottom floor, while one floor up, but still underground, are the master bedroom, a second bedroom and a bathroom.

Meanwhile the entire ground floor is one copper kitchen and living room space, which is all topped up with the funnel roof, reaching out of the shadows like a flower.

It's shape was designed to bring in light, no matter what time of day it is and as well as the bespoke copper kitchen and the copper roof, the house is also decked out in marble, with bathrooms and the swimming pool clad in the material.

The RIBA judges admired the deftness of detail, as well as the clever use of materials, while Kevin called the central room 'cathedral-like', admiring it as an 'absolute marvel'.  

The project was financed by a property investment company, who invested into Gianni's dream.

The first floor below ground level contains the bedrooms, where the exquisite use of materials continues - the master bedroom is entirely timber lined and the en-suite is also marble lined, with light pouring in from a cleverly positioned light well. 

It took 14 months to construct the basement, with the contractor revealing there were some challenges in building within such a small space between two rows of houses.  

But Kevin was full of admiration for the home, and said it had 'taken his breath away', saying: 'I will never ever be able to live in a place was beautiful as this. but throughout history, people have put up buildings to be inspirational, to be exemplars to show us the way forward.' 

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Grand Designs houses

5 homes that take you by surprise

The first five RIBA candidates to hit the small screen on Grand Designs: House of the Year 2021

These five homes all take you by surprise, unfurling to reveal details that you didn’t expect. They all featured on Grand Designs: House of the Year 2021, vying for the coveted RIBA award.

Kevin McCloud, architect Damion Burrows and design expert Michelle Ogundehin tour the UK for the new series, and in this episode, airing on Wednesday 17 November at 9pm on Channel 4, they visit homes in Gloucestershire, Norfolk, London, Cumbria and the Hampshire coast.

1. House on the Hill, Gloucestershire

House on the Hill took more than 10 years, in what can only be described as a labour of love by client and architect working cohesively. The small 18th century farmhouse, located at the highest point of Gloucestershire, was transformed into a home and a gallery by Alison Brooks Architects .

The first phase of the four-phase project converted the original farmhouse, uniting three stores on side to create a lofty but intimate display room for the collection of Indian and African sculpture. The original stairs remain, linking a series of small rooms and culminating in a suspended landing. The extension, larger than the original house, is clad in deep brown fibre cement to recall the darkness of the nearby Forest of Dean, counterpointed by small flashes of highly polished stainless steel.

The project enhances an already lovely setting, with landscape treatment all around the house connecting it with the garden. Michelle complemented the ‘precision and detail of the architecture’, saying ‘there are lots of things that shouldn’t really work here, but they do’.

Find out more at  architecture.com

House on the Hill by Alison Brooks Architects. Photo: Paul Riddle

2. House-within-a-House, London

Michelle and Dan wanted a home for their five boys, and this three-storey, six bed, detached family home in a conservation area of south London had the space. The original Victorian home was destroyed in WWII and replaced by a nondescript building in the 1960s, so London-based architecture practice alma-nac decided to build around the existing two-storey house, effectively giving the house a new skin to bring it up to contemporary standards and blend the structure with its neighbours.

Many of the inner walls were retained and skilfully integrated into the new house, while roof and rear  extensions  are made mostly of lightweight, exposed timber. The inside is not entirely open plan. Two rooms to the front, which could be used as a study and a snug, look onto the front garden. The living quarters are split level – the sitting room stepping down to the single storey kitchen and dining room at the back, which looks over the rear garden.

Kevin McCloud called it ‘a fabulously proud 21st century conversion of next door’.

House-within-a-House by alma-nac. Photo: Jack Hobhouse

3. Pele Tower House, Cumbria

Katie Woolacott and Patrick Gilmartin enlisted  Woollacott Gilmartin Architects to transform a Grade II listed fortress into a family home full of light.

The conversion displays considerable inventiveness and sensitivity. The character of the 14th century Pele Tower – a memorable and long-standing feature of the site – has been successfully retained by deeply recessing new glazing within the massive depth of the walls. The works have also enhanced the landscape , removing modern farming structures and hard surfaced areas.

The environmental performance of the existing buildings have also been upgraded to modern standards of insulation, air tightness and thermal bridging. Renewable energy is generated from ground-source heat pumps and a micro-hydroelectric scheme, producing more energy than the house consumes, further reducing its carbon footprint.

Pele Tower House by Woollacott Gilmartin Architects. Photo: Luke White

4. The Water Tower, Norfolk

This Norfolk water tower conversion by Tonkin Liu is certainly worthy of RIBA recognition. Dennis and Misia brought the derelict structure back to life as a family home, with a ground-floor kitchen/dining room, bedrooms on the first and second floors, and an upper living/dining/kitchen tank room at the top. The accommodation sits in the north tower, linked to the south tower helical stairwell by a glazed ‘bridge’.

Each room enjoys a fully glazed elevation looking out across arable fields, and the new structure is made from cross-laminated timber (CLT), left exposed on the interior to lend warmth to the building. Exposed metal panels from the plant room, complete with the original ballcocks and valves, are retained as decorative features. The effort to preserve and retain as much of the original structure as possible shows how good retrofitting design can combine low embodied energy and architectural delight.

Design expert and co-presenter Michelle Ogundehin compared the water tower house to ‘a Bond-lair’.

Norfolk Water Tower by Tonkin Liu. Photo: Dennis Pedersen

5. Harbour House, Hayling Island

Hayling Island, just off the south coast in Hampshire, is an upside-down house by John Pardey Architects . On the ground floor are three bedrooms, a wet room and a family room. Upstairs, the open-plan kitchen, living and dining room area, as well as the master bedroom, are positioned to make the most of the views.

Described by Kevin McCloud as ‘handsome, angular and well-chiseled’, the property features plenty of nautical references, from horizontally proportioned windows to white cladding and strip-timber floors and ceilings.

To make the most of the spectacular surrounds, Harbour House has a generous first-floor terrace, connected to a pool set into the garden by an external staircase. It’s home to Simon and Lisa, who met by the sea, got married at sea and wanted to live by the sea.

Find out more at architecture.com

Harbour House by John Pardey Architects. Photo: James Morris

Which of these five properties will make it onto the RIBA House of the Year shortlist? Tune into Channel 4 to find out…

See the first set of homes competing for a place on the shortlist for @RIBA ‘s #HouseOfTheYear award on @Channel4 at 9pm tomorrow! #GrandDesigns 🏠 pic.twitter.com/8mYXQdj957 — granddesigns (@granddesigns) November 16, 2021

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5 Russian hotels haunted by ghosts

Paranormal activity isn’t just something we see on TV - many people believe there are places where ghost sightings are real. Russia is no exception - Grigory Rasputin, Sergei Esenin and even Vladimir Lenin - are just some of the ghosts said to inhabit Russian hotels as well. Would you dare to spend a night there and check if these ghost stories are true?

1. Hotel National (Moscow)

One of the most luxurious hotels in Moscow, Hotel National opened in 1903 and has hosted many well-known names over the years including prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, French poet Anatole France, English writer Herbert Wells, and American pianist Van Cliburn. The leader of the Russian Revolution and the first head of the Soviet state, Vladimir Lenin, also lived here for a week with his wife - in room 107. According to rumors and the hotel staff’s accounts, a figure of a man with a bald head and a beard is often seen at the hotel sipping tea, walking the corridors and turning the lights on and off - it seems the Soviet leader loved it here so much he didn’t want to leave the place - even after his death!

2. Apartment Baltapart On Gorokhovaya (St. Petersburg)

Want to get a glimpse of Grigory Rasputin , the famous mystic and friend of the last Romanovs? Try your luck at the hotel on Gorokhovaya 64 in St. Petersburg, a residential building that dates back to the early 20th century and has, at some point, hosted Rasputin on the third floor. Some of the guests share that they regularly see the white figure of Rasputin roaming around at night. Others think the ghost tends to visit those who are sad or in a bad mood. If he visits a man, he would stroke him on the back at night, or, if visiting a woman, he’d whisper something nice to comfort her.

3. Grand Hotel Europe (St. Petersburg)

The five-star Grand Hotel Europe opened in 1875 on Arts Square in St. Petersburg. As the legend goes, it replaced an earlier inn situated on the same site - a lodge where since 1706 guests would hear and witness horrifying things like footsteps in the attic, moans, and squeaks. The story tells that once a brave resident went up to the attic once and saw a ghost of the killed officer Belyaev-Tolstoy - a thing that terrified the owner and prompted him to sell the inn. Later, the building was demolished and a new Grand Hotel Europe was built in its place, but it’s believed that the ghost moved into the new hotel as well - there are stories of guests sometimes mistaking the ghost for a porter!

4. Angleterre Hotel  (St. Petersburg)

Another place believed to be inhabited by a ghost is the Angleterre Hotel in St. Petersburg - a place where the famous Russian poet Sergei Esenin was found dead in room No. 5 in 1925. Some believe he was suffering from depression and hung himself while others believe it was actually a murder and that suicide was a cover-up. Maybe that’s why the soul of the poet has still not found its peace and is still seen within the hotel’s walls.

5. Arkhangelskoye estate and sanatorium (Moscow region)

A monument in honor of Tatiana Yusupova in Arkhangelskoye.

The picturesque estate just outside of Moscow, Arkhangelskoye has seen many owners, including the Yusupov family, one of the wealthiest in the country. According to legend, the estate is inhabited by the ghost of Tatiana Yusupova, who died in 1888 at the age of 22 as a result of typhus. Her inconsolable father buried her here and ordered a marble angel to stand over her grave. After he died, the monument was moved to a nearby tea house and since then the ghost of Tatiana has been seen walking around the park searching for her father’s present.

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