Focus on Arts and Ecology

Peter Zumthor's Secular Retreat, an eco-friendly mews house and a concrete residence informed by Tadao Ando's work are among the 20 homes vying to be RIBAHouse of the Year 2019.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has released the longlist of 20 projects for the annual award, which celebrates recently completed houses and extensions that represent the best examples of British residential architecture.

The institute revealed the longlist on the same day it announced the winning buildings of the 2019 RIBA National Awards.

Several projects made it on to both of lists, including Peter Zumthor's Secular Retreat, Cork House by Matthew Barnett Howland, Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton, and Niall McLaughlin's Hampshire House.

This year's nominees also include Meloy Architects' Hill House Passivhaus – a sustainable self-build housing project in East Sussex that meets the optimum low-energy house standards.

Another environment-centred residence is Max Fordham House by Bere Architects that has insulated automatic-shutters to reduce the building's need for supplementary heating and an interior layout that accommodates the possible change of needs that come with ageing.

Dualchas Architects' also made the list with its coastal Black House that frames views of the Isle of Skye, alongside James Gorst's Hannington Farm in Northamptonshire that takes cues from traditional vernacular, but is complete with giant Scandinavian-style chimney stacks.

Other projects vying for the title include House in a Garden by Gianni Botsford Architects, known for its funnel-shaped copper roof.

The concrete Ghost House by BPN, which is informed by the work of Tado Ando, also features, alongside Adam Richards Nithurst Farm in West Sussex.

The winner of the 2019 RIBA House of the Year Award will be announced this autumn, during the fifth series of Channel 4's Grand Designs: House of the Year TV series.

Last year's winner was the "breathtaking" off-grid Lochside House designed by Haysom Ward Millar Architects, which comprises three humble buildings crafted from natural materials.

Past winners of the award, which has been presented since 2001, include Murphy House by Richard Murphy Architects, Caring Wood by James Macdonald Wright and Niall Maxwell and Flint House by Skene Catling de la Peña.

Scroll down to see the full list of this year's potential winners:

› Earl's Court house, London, England, by Sophie Hicks
› A Restorative Retreat, Sartfell, Isle of Mann, by Foster Lomas
› Black House, Armadale, Isle of Skye, by Dualchas
› Cork House, Berkshire, England, by Matthew Barnett Howland, Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton
› Hampshire House, Hampshire, England, by Niall McLaughlin

› Hannington Farm, Northamptonshire, England, by James Gorst
› Hill House Passivhaus, East Sussex, England, by Meloy
› House in a Garden, London, England, by Gianni Botsford
› House Lessans, Saintfield, Northern Island, by McGonigle McGrath
› Kenwood Lee House, London, England, by Cousins & Cousins

› Lark Rise, Buckinghamshire, England, by bere:architects
› Max Fordham House, London, England by bere:architects
› Nithurst Farm, West Sussex, England, by Adam Richards
› Pocket House, London, England, by Tikari Works
› Secular Retreat, Devon, England, by Peter Zumthor and Mole
› Silver How, Llanhennock, Wales, by Hall + Bednarczyk
› South London House, London, England, by Jonathan Pile
› Stackyard, Derbyshire, England by James Boon
› Ghost House, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, by BPN
› The Green House, Tiverton, England, by David Sheppard

Main photo is by Jack Hobhouse.