TAIGH NA COILLE
Sutherland
The purpose of the dwelling is to facilitate management and enjoyment of the natural landscape. It therefore needed to accommodate the pressures associated with living an ‘outdoor lifestyle’, be robust enough to withstand the turbulent and often inhospitable weather of the Sutherland coastline, and still be a pleasant place to reside on stormy and wintry days.
Our design approach is rooted in a deep and careful response to the site’s topography, elevation, climate and view orientations. The challenge was to craft a building that simultaneously took advantage of the stunning views from the elevated position, but that nestled into the landscape without inappropriate prominence or exposure to the weather. The designs had to be deliverable through prefabrication methods to limit time and therefore impact on the site, and use lightweight construction methods that do not require heavy excavation, foundation or retention works. This lightweight construction had still to bear the sense of solidity and mass that is well associated with traditional, Scottish vernacular architecture.
Through an iterative design process we developed a floor plan that pivots at a centre point, cranking to match the concave contour profiles of the ground that falls away to the west. This geometry means there is never a single continuous elevation plane, which drastically reduces its apparent massing and prominence in the landscape.
The spectacular site for this sustainable cabin sits within the breathtaking coastal landscapes of north west Sutherland, characterised by a rocky topography of Lewisian gniess forming cnocans and lochans, falling down to wild craggy cliffs punctuated by beaches in sheltered bays. Situated within a National Nature Reserve, SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), a Special Area of Conservation and forming part of the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area, it was clear from the start of our design process that proposals for this building should hold respect for and care of the special natural environment in which the building lies at their core.
A number of potential locations for the building were considered, with the eventual site chosen for its ability to nestle the building into its topography and the potential to utilise and reinstate an existing access track, thereby limiting the impact on this fragile landscape.
Entrance and exit points to the building are located on the west, south and east elevations, all within deeply recessed and covered external spaces. This makes them visually obvious (when open), but also provides the important benefit of giving generous shelter against the elements. The principal entrance in particular is envisaged as an ‘outdoor room’ where muddy boots and waterlogged clothing and equipment can be removed before entering the house. These large external recesses in the building feature sliding or folding timber slatted screens, which can be closed off when the building is not in use to protect it from weather, animals, and maintain security. Smaller window and door openings are expressed as penetrations through the timber walls, whereas larger glazing areas break the wall head line at eaves level.
Roof edges have are deliberately kept tight to the wall lines without larger overhanging eaves or verge details. This crisp and tailored appearance is partly to emphasise the emphasise the mass of the building set in the landscape rather than a planar language, but is also to streamline the building against very strong prevailing winds on the exposed site.
External timber cladding is left untreated to avoid the use of paints or other treatments that might cause pollutant run-off over time from rainwater. The timber cladding components have already weathered naturally from an initial golden colour to a silver-grey. The raw aluminiu roof sheets will also attract a chalky, matte patina in the salty environment, coordinating with the natural heath flora and the weathered shore and inland outrcrops of Lewisian gniess.
A core remit of this project was to minimise the local and global impacts of the building. The building envelope has been carefully detailed to ensure high levels of thermal insulation, elimination of cold-bridging and use of environmentally-friendly, low-carbon materials. Ground-mounted solar PV panels and an air-source heat pump keep the operational carbon consumption of the building to a minimum, with net-positive electrical energy demand facilitated by energy fed back to the national grid. The building has been designed to sit above the ground using suspended floor systems, to minimise the need for ground excavations under the building footprint. The building has also been carefully designed for deconstruction and re-use and recycling of materials.
Team
Client : Private Client
Contractor : Spey Building & Joinery
Structural Engineers : Narro Associates
Photographs : Dapple Photography