Green House crowned RIBA House of the Year 2023
RIBA House of the Year 2023 has been awarded to Green House in London by Hayhurst & Co

Tianna Williams
Green House by Hayhurst & Co has been crowned the RIBA House of the Year 2023 winner. The home, located in Tottenham, London, and its fun and innovative approach to the everyday, impressed the judges – who picked it among a strong shortlist of six houses, spanning from a Devonshire cow shed transformed into a creative family home, to a characterful Scottish new-build.
RIBA House of the Year 2023 winner: Green House by Hayhurst & Co
The project, a reimagined typical terraced house, works with a constrained urban plot in a small alleyway in north London. The structure’s new exterior, clad in polycarbonate panels and wrapped in dense planting, makes for a discreet, and compact family home, perfectly calibrated to its client’s needs and the site conditions.
Inside, thanks to some clever architectural sleights of hand, open spaces and large windows make for a riad-inspired green oasis of an interior. It was described by RIBA’s jury as a ‘domestic greenhouse’ and ‘extraordinary ordinary house’.
The home's biophilic design take allows a daily life among nature, while practical solutions to spatial issues (curtains act as dividers and screens and planting ensure levels of privacy and ventilation can be easily adjusted), make for a practical family space.
Jury chair Dido Milne said of this year’s winner: ‘Green House, affectionately known as the ”Tottenham riad” is a true oasis within the city. It is both airy and cosy, bold yet respectful of its neighbours. Your eye is simultaneously drawn upwards to open sky and down and out across the living room to greenery.
'The close architect and client relationship, with a joint desire to deliver a truly sustainable home, is evident in all of the design decisions and details. On a confined urban site, the house was delivered to a tight budget with an economy of means – and it remains richer for it. Nowhere do you feel the site or budget was restricted. It feels luxurious, homely, deeply private and relaxing. It’s an extraordinary ordinary house and a remarkable collaboration.’
RIBA House of the Year 2023: the shortlist
Cowshed (South Devon) by David Kohn Architects
Last year David Kohn Architects won the 2022 RIBA House of the Year with Red House, and they have made the shortlist again with Cowshed, an unconventional family home. Nestled on an existing farmstead in Devon, the home/artists studio is a celebration of an agricultural outbuilding being repurposed into an inspiring, creative space. Built on the foundations of using simple honest materiality, the 1970s agricultural structure has been retained, with the home’s wooden beam skeleton proudly on show. Large arched windows reflect the owner’s artwork, and original concrete footings provide a welcomed balance of the existing and the repurposed, injecting fun colour into the stripped-back structure.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Hundred Acre Wood (Argyll and Bute, Scotland) by Denizen Works
A home that seems new, yet old, Hundred Acre Wood blends into its idyllic setting of Loch Awe. Thoughtfully constructed over an eight-year period, Denizen Works defines slow architecture. Hunkered into the banks of the Loch, the home is characterised by its sculptural exterior paying homage to baronial castles and tower houses of Scotland. An ode to the client's hatred of television, the textured walls are made from crushed TV screens, and offer a glimmer of erosion to the building, which adds to the ancient feel. Sheltered from the elements, the thick walls provide a fortress for the owner to admire the views from the large windows overlooking the Scottish wildlife.
Made of Sand (Devon) by Studio Weave
Unlike the name, Made of Sand is mostly constructed of a heavy timber frame, Western Red Cedar cladding, and panels of Douglas fir, creating a space that connects with the surrounding Blackdown Hills. The two-story annexe by Studio Weave, extends a traditional Devonshire stone cottage that embraces local craftsmen and traditional methods during its construction. Although a contemporary design, the use of local natural materials exposed both internally and externally, creates a calming environment to rest and recharge.
Middle Avenue (Farnham) by Rural Office
Nestled on a corner plot in a garden suburb of Farnham, Middle Avenue is an adaptable family home with a nod to late 19th-century architecture. The attention to detail is evident through the details in crafted red clay Keymer tiles, and a steeply pitched roof and white gables. The new building has replaced an inter-war bungalow in the Surrey village, with detailing that has earned its place on the shortlist.
Saltmarsh House (Isle of Wight) by Niall McLaughlin Architects
With uninterrupted views scaling the Isle of Wight, Niall McLaughlin Architects, the winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2022, have created Saltmarsh House which overlooks Bembridge Harbour. The delicate steel-framed pavilion and intricate glass details, add a sense of lightness that blends into its surroundings- as if designed to be in nature. Although the exterior is eye-catching the interior and simplistic repeated patterns give a subtle nod to minimalist architecture. The pyramidal copper roof adds to the delicacy, with large open windows taking in the cascading views.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
- Tianna WilliamsStaff Writer
-
Coconut palms frame Ishahayi Beach House, a slice of paradise living
In Nigeria, Ishahayi Beach House by Studio Contra offers a striking connection to the natural world with uninterrupted views of the Atlantic Ocean
-
Inside the futuristic Japanese factory where Goldwin 0 cooks up its experimental technical-wear
The experimental arm of cult Japanese clothing label Goldwin, Goldwin 0 is pushing the boundaries of utility and technical-wear. Wallpaper* takes a trip to Japan’s Toyama prefecture to learn about its science fiction-like innovations
-
Six spectacular pavilions to see at the London Design Biennale 2025
More than 35 countries responded to the theme 'Surface Reflections.' Here are our favourites
-
Inside Abbey Road's refresh: touring the legendary studio's new interior
Abbey Road gets an interior refresh by Threefold Architects, bringing the legendary London recording studio in tune with the 21st century
-
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready to visit, ‘an exhibition you can use’
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready for its public opening on 6 June; we toured the structure and spoke to its architect, Marina Tabassum
-
A meticulously crafted artist’s space in east London evokes the area’s long creative history
Maich Swift Architects’ artist’s space has radically reconfigured a Victorian terraced house, transforming it into a contemporary live/work interior
-
Welcome to Omved Gardens, north London’s hidden green oasis
This secret space in Highgate is relaunching as a vibrant community hub with new spaces, activities and exhibitions
-
This contemporary cabin cantilevers over a Scottish loch
Rock Cove, Cameron Webster Architects’ contemporary cabin in Argyll, Scotland, makes the most of its wild setting
-
What to see at the London Festival of Architecture 2025
June is all about the London Festival of Architecture 2025; we browsed the over 450-event rich programme for its highlights, so you won't have to
-
V&A East Storehouse is a new London museum, but not as you know it
Designed by DS+R, the V&A East Storehouse immerses visitors in history as objects of all scales mesmerise, seemingly ‘floating’ in all directions
-
Timeless yet daring, this Marylebone penthouse 'floats' on top of a grand London building
A Marylebone penthouse near Regent’s Park by design studio Wendover is transformed into a light-filled family home