AR House 2025 winners announced

Characterised by their narrow facade and extreme depth, nhà ông or tube houses, are the dominant housing form in Vietnam’s urban areas – organic, bottom‑up formations which are a response to the pressure of urbanisation. Designed for Atelier Tho.A’s lead architects, Lá‑Sách House offers a surprisingly airy and open environment with its entire ground floor facade as a system of sliding and folding doors, opening onto a small garden. Though currently restricted to a close circle of friends, the space is intended to expand its role over time, cultivating friendships and connections with neighbours.

The winning project was selected by Manuel Cervantes, founder of Manuel Cervantes Estudio; Catherine Ince, curator and writer and currently a trustee of The Cosmic House and Jencks Foundation; and Jeannette Kuo, professor of architecture and construction at the Technical University of Munich and co-founding partner of Karamuk Kuo.

They said that Lá‑Sách House ‘integrates climate, ecology and domestic life with exceptional ease, making the house seem larger than its envelope’.  Its architects have ‘challenged a banal typology’ to propose ‘a model that can be replicated in other tropical contexts.’

Highly commended: Rammed Earth House in Wilthshire, UK, by Tuckey Design Studio

Credit: Jim Stephenson

The winner is joined by two highly commended projects including Rammed Earth House in Wiltshire, UK, by Tuckey Design Studio. Built largely from unstabilised rammed earth to fulfill the clients’ wishes of ‘strong eco credentials’, the H-shaped plan serves as a home to a retired couple with ample space for entertaining family and friends. The judges thought the ‘sophisticated language’ of the ‘beautifully detailed’ home contributes ‘a convincing post‑carbon narrative, using geology to create comfort without artifice’, and will ‘pave the way for alternative methods of low‑carbon construction and its standardisation in the UK’.

Highly commended: Live Sawn House in Saitama, Japan, by ICADA

Credit: Nobutada Omote

Also highly commended is Live Sawn House designed by ICADA in Saitama, Japan. This family home places Japan’s increasingly undervalued large‑diameter sugi – or Japanese cedar – logs at the centre of the design. The judges said that this ‘inventive’ house’ is ‘small in scale, yet great in discipline’. Showing ‘commitment to environmental concerns as well as their economic realities’, the house utilises wood as a form of ‘moral statement about honesty, precision and care’.

Commended: Casa 720° in Reserva Peñitas, Mexico, by Fernanda Canales Arquitectura

Credit: Camila Cossio

Three additional projects were commended by the jury, including Casa 720° in Reserva Peñitas, Mexico by Fernanda Canales Arquitectura. The judges saw this house as ‘formally attractive’ and proposing a ‘playful relation with, and perception of, the landscape’.

Commended: 25 Columns in Dalarna, Sweden, by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen

Credit: Bas Princen

Also commended is 25 Columns in Dalarna, Sweden by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen. The judges praised the project’s ‘precise and minimal detailing’, which demonstrates ‘a deep understanding of the materials’ and a willingness to embrace ‘an economy of means’. The ‘clarity and simplicity’ of the design creates ‘strong atmosphere’, turning the house into ‘a piece of structural contemplation’.

Commended: House M in Beijing, China, by Atelier About Architecture

Credit: Zhu Yumeng

The third project to be commended is House M in Beijing, China by Atelier About Architecture. It was described by the judges as ‘a relevant reinterpretation of Chinese tradition’ and a ‘clever response to site and planning challenges’.

These six projects were visited by independent critics before the judges chose a winner, and are all featured in the AR December 2025 / January 2026 issue, available to order here. Nine additional homes were shortlisted by the panel and will be published on the AR website in January.