Incredible home shaped like a giant stone staircase to nowhere is named as Britain's House Of The Year...

This wedge-shaped house in Buckinghamshire has been awarded House Of The Year in the prestigious Royal Institute Of British Architects (Riba) awards. Commissioned by Lord Rothschild for use by his family, Flint House rises out of the ground with roofing that disappears into the sky

If you want a house that stands out blending in, it seems, is the way forward.

This wedge-shaped house in Buckinghamshire has been awarded House Of The Year in the prestigious Royal Institute Of British Architects (Riba) awards.

Commissioned by Lord Rothschild for use by his family, Flint House rises out of the ground with step-style roofing that disappears into the sky.

It was described by judges as ‘a marvel of geological evolution and construction… a celebration of location, material and architectural design at its best’.

The house, designed by architects Skene Catling De La Pena, sits in the grounds of Rothchild’s estate at Waddesdon Manor and has been constructed using masonry and flint cladding.

Riba commented that the home - which is split into a main house plus an annexe - is ‘an intriguing and intelligent mixed application of rooftops, terraces and recesses that combine to deliver a stunning piece of liveable, provoking, modern architecture that marries into the earthly yet beautiful countryside’.

The judges added: ‘This is a beautiful addition to a beautiful landscape.’

Riba President Jane Duncan said: 'The shortlist for the Riba’s House of the Year represents a remarkable diversity of architectural skills and outcomes.

‘I am delighted that Skene Catling De La Pena’s Flint House for Lord Rothschild has won this year’s prize. Although superbly original and unique, it continues a fine tradition of Riba award-winning houses that provide exemplars for others: architects, clients and developers. Congratulations to all involved.'

The best of the rest: The runners-up in the Riba House Of The Year awards

The competition for the House Of The Year Awards was stiff, with several remarkable homes vying for the top honours.

Runners-up in the awards were Kew House in London, Levring House in London, Maghera in County Down, (The) Mill in the Scottish Borders, Sussex House in West Sussex and Vaulted House, London. 

Kew House - a four-bedroom family house - was praised by Riba judges for being 'rich with incidental spaces and unexpected light sources'. 

The home, completed in January 2014,  is split into two wings and 'responds to the living patterns of the young family'. 

Levring House, which fills a corner plot of a London mews, was described by the judges has having a 'heady mix of free-flowing space, light-filled voids... and a brilliant regard for the surrounding context'.

The house is constructed using Danish hand-made bricks, bronze panels and glazing. Inside there is a 'glorious' double height kitchen and dining space, hidden terrace, master bedroom and sunken basement.

Riba said: 'This is architecture of sophistication and delight, crafted out of a tight and complex urban site with skill and panache.' 

Vaulted House, in London, is built on the walled site of a former taxi garage and is almost entirely hidden in the middle of a Victorian block in Chiswick. 

The approach is via a covered passage, beyond which is a brick-lined front porch.

The house is arranged so that on entry, visitors are poised between two levels, with stairs leading up to the open-plan living level, and down to the lower level of bedrooms. The six roofs, each topped by a skylight, are lifted above the enclosing boundary wall.