Tuesday 4 December 2018

House of the Year







This in my view is a well deserved winner of RIBA's House of the Year 2018. The property has been designed specifically around its site and setting in the Scottish Highlands. It is fantastic example of well considered architecture which hunkers down to protect itself against the harsh environment with sliding shutters and charred larch cladding. 


The dwelling has been broken down into 3 separate building forms to reduce its impact allowing it to sit lightly in the landscape with the natural materials enabling it to blend into its environment. This is a clever design which creates an expansive light filled home without the formation of vast cavern like spaces.  


The self sufficient building is human in scale both outside and in with masterfully linked internal spaces. This is how habitats should be designed and serves as an antidote to the 'little boxes' which appear in their thousands by the mass housing developers which have no sense of place.