2007

Sited between a traditional stone cottage and a farm-yard, the scale and form of this new house are intended to sit harmoniously with the existing buildings in their rural environment. The form is borne from a simple rectangular plan, with “lean-to” elements of garage and sunroom set back from the front gable.

The key environmental objective was to minimise the power and heating requirements within the house, and then to apply appropriate technologies to provide the small amounts of heating still required. The only heating installed is a multi-fuel stove, coupled with a whole-house heat recovery and ventilation unit.

The house has been featured as an exemplar in Scottish Borders Council’s Local Plan: “Supplementary Planning Guidance for Use of Timber in Sustainable Construction” and in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park “Supplementary Planning Guidance: Sustainable Design”.

Photographs © Icosis

Scottish Borders Council Design Award for Sustainable Design 2009