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The UK’s best house of the year is a funhouse full of tricks

Richard Murphy’s personal residence has plenty of surprises up its eaves

By Lauren Ro
House with eclectic facade of stone, wooden slats, and glass bricks with dramatic sloping roof sits on a hill.
The sloping roof can be opened, creating an indoor-outdoor space. But that’s not the only thing it can do.
Photo via RIBA

And the Royal Institute of British Architects’ 2016 House of the Year is the Murphy House, by Richard Murphy Architects. Built as the architect’s personal residence in Edinburgh, the playful, truly whimsical home, with its eclectic facade and unique profile, is also modular and adaptive to different seasons of the year.

Built on a small plot of land, the home has a footprint measuring just 11 by six meters (or 36 by 20 feet) and a floorspace of 165 square meters (approximately 1,776 square feet) spread over an impressive five stories that encompass three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining area, study, basement, garage, utility room, and a roof terrace.

GIFs via Archinect

The dramatic, sloping roof is outfitted with solar panels and can be opened up in warmer weather, creating an outdoor space inside the home. Described as one of the jury members as a “box of tricks,” the residence features plenty of other surprises including pulleys, shutters, sliding doors, bookshelves whose backs double as window coverings, a secret mail receptacle, hidden bathtub, and so much more, making it the ultimate funhouse.

Watch the video below for a full look at what made the home RIBA’s pick for the United Kingdom’s best house of the year.

Via: Archinect

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