King's Grove, an elegant new house squeezed behind two Victorian terraces in Peckham designed by Duggan Morris Architects, has scooped the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) Stephen Lawrence Prize 2012.
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.
"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 judges stated.
"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."
Photography: Edmund Sumner