The annual Build It Awards 2018 took place in November celebrating the best in custom and self build over the year.
Held in London, this year’s awards saw Jane and Mark Caterer property win the Best Self Build or Renovation Project for 2018 for their stunning home on a sloped site in Cornwall (Main image).
They built their contemporary home for £403,000, with a plot cost of £252,000, designed by Studio West Architects, with the brief that the house had to be light filled an unobtrusive from the outside, due to its location in the heart of a village.
Unusually, the house is clad in rubber, and Mark took a major role in working on the property, working every day on site for 15 months, with all materials having to be moved by hand due to the steep nature of the height.
Other winners on the evening including NaCSBA member Northcot Brick for Best Brick Home, it’s third win at the awards in the last five years. The winning Arts and Crafts style home was praised by the judges, who said, “This wow-factor project stood out for its playful use of a traditional building material, creating a fun and quirky new home on a narrow infill plot.”
Owner Will Anderson commented that the traditional character of Northcot’s handmade bricks were fundamental to the individuality of his home, saying, “The Orchard was inspired by the desire to create an authentic Arts and Crafts home, alive with the beauty of traditional and richly detailed materials. The chromatic subtleties of Northcot’s silver grey handmade bricks, with their delicate combination of orange-red tones dusted with fine grey sand, were integral to the uniqueness and sheer visual pleasure of this labour of love.”
Northcot Brick’s handmade product was fundamental to the winning home in the Best Brick category
Best Custom Build went to Border Oak’s Mortimer Meadow, a five-home custom build development in Herefordshire.
Mortimer Meadows
In acknowledgement for setting a high bar for rural authorities to support custom and self-build housing, Shropshire Council won Best Council for Custom & Self Builders. Shopshire proactively publishes statistics from its Self and Custom Build Register online and maintains a small list of available plots on its website (including some multi-plot developments), which the judges found worthy of praise.
Right to Build Task Force director Mario Wolf presents Best Council for Custom and Self Builders to Andria Cox, Planning Policy and Self Build and Adrian Cooper, Planning Policy & Strategy Manager at Shropshire Council, with comedian Miles Jupp
