When London architect Denizen Works was commissioned to produce a design for a new three-bedroom house on the Isle of Tiree, off the west coast of Scotland, it developed a concept far away from its own metropolitan roots and wholly in keeping with the Inner Hebrides environment.
House No 7, which won the Private category of the 2014 Wood Awards, was built on the site of a ruined B-listed traditional Scottish ‘black house’. The development comprises two houses – a ‘Living house’ and a ‘Guest house’, linked by a utility wing – and references not just the black houses but also the second world war Nissan huts that dot the landscape.
The Guest house is built using traditional timber frame techniques, while the roof of the utility block and the Living house are constructed with a CNC-cut spruce glulam frame.
The curved forms were dictated in part by the desire to create "a robust island living environment that was sustainable and strong" and also by the need to ensure the component elements could be easily shipped from the mainland to Tiree on a Cal-Mac ferry.
Denizen Works developed a solution whereby the roof portions were split along the apex to allow for ease of transport and then connection on site. "This allowed the contractors to erect the frame quickly and safely in the inclement weather," said the architect.
Internally the architect made noteworthy use of pine of different characters.
"Pine tongue and groove boards are prevalent throughout the highlands and islands and we decided that using this traditional material in a slightly different way could give us an interesting internal feel while still being relevant to the islands," said the architect.
To this end the interior features a pitch pine worktop, and pine skirting boards used as the cladding to the ceilings of two of the main spaces and the sculptural stairs to the hall.
"These stairs were laid like Jenga blocks on site after being milled to size from reclaimed Victorian pitch pine beams."
