Niwa House in Southwark has been named a 2025 RIBA National Award winner, placing it among the UK’s most acclaimed new buildings.
Date: 18 August 2025
Takero Shimazaki Architects, a practice led by London Metropolitan University studio lecturer Takero Shimazaki, has received a 2025 RIBA National Award for their Niwa House in Southwark development.
The award, presented by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), is among the highest honours in UK architecture and recognises buildings that demonstrate exceptional design and contribution to the built environment. Niwa House was one of just 20 projects selected nationwide from a pool of regional winners.
Summing up their decision, the RIBA jury praised how the design dissolves boundaries between architecture and nature:
"Carefully designed and located courtyards puncture the lower level and flood the bedrooms and circulation areas with natural light, creating lovely vignettes of gardens and sky. The quality of light throughout the home is breathtaking. Large full-height sliding doors and glazed walls seamlessly blend indoors and out, opening spaces to gardens, courtyards and balconies. It is difficult to see where the building ends and the gardens begin."
Performance and precision
Despite its minimal appearance, Niwa House was delivered through complex technical coordination. It is designed for passive performance, incorporating thermal mass, natural ventilation, high-performance glazing and effective shading. An air-source heat pump and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery maintain thermal comfort while reducing energy use.
The architectural and engineering teams collaborated from the outset, ensuring that design intent was matched by technical integrity and accessibility.
Teaching through practice
Takero is a studio tutor on Postgraduate Architecture Unit 08 within London Metropolitan University’s School of Art, Architecture and Design. The unit focuses on themes of city, weather and reuse are key concerns that are also reflected in Niwa House, which transforms a derelict urban site into a sustainable home responsive to climate and context.
London Met has a Unit-based approach to teaching where students are taught by practitioners who are actively shaping contemporary architecture, offering them direct exposure to the challenges and decisions of real-world design. Through Unit 08, students engage with practice through tutorials, critiques and discussion of live projects.
Kaye Newman, Head of Architecture and Design, said: "We are both pleased and proud that Takero Shimazaki Architects have won this prestigious RIBA National Award. It is a thoroughly deserved recognition of beautiful and intelligent architecture."
Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
Credit: Felix Koch