Three fantasy house plans have been selected as the winners of the Design a Beautiful House competition: a marble-clad mansion, a subterranean lakeside dwelling and a linear property with faceted bays.
The three concepts tied for first place in the ideas competition, which was organised by planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore and attracted over 660 entries.
Modern Mansion features a secluded leafy courtyard and marble-lined swimming pool
The brief asked entrants to devise a home for a family on a 91-hectare site in Hertfordshire, England, to meet an undefined definition of beauty.
"The competition potentially ignites an array of discussions that highlight a global snapshot of ideas of 'beauty' and the 'home'," said Barton Willmore. The competition winners were selected by a jury including MVRDV partner Fokke Moerel, Neil Porter of London firm Gustafson Porter and Mick Finch, who is course leader at the London art and design school Central St Martins.
The proposal reinterprets an old-fashioned mansion and focuses on function
The first design, Modern Mansion by Polish architects Maciej Grelewicz with artist Anna Or?owska, is a simple block covered in sheets of white marble.
Described by the jury as a "well-judged representation of architectural beauty", it features a secluded leafy courtyard and marble-lined swimming pool, as well as a cinema and a basement hosting a garage and "man-cave".
"For me beauty lies in simpl...