Creating a sustainable, off-the-grid home with minimal impact on the land
Haysom Ward Miller Architects set out to design a house that would have minimal impact on its surroundings—a magical setting on the west coast of Scotland. Lochside House is the award-winning, modest, sustainable home that makes the most of this opportunity. Our job? Civil and structural engineering services for the house and associated studio/garage.
With Lochside House’s exposed location and restricted access, there were some interesting challenges. For example, structured insulated panels (that could be transported to the site) were used in the construction, and we had to minimise the requirement for in-situ concrete. Our solution? A hybrid substructure that fit to the sloping nature of the site and the shallow bedrock.
At the high end of the site, the substructure consists of a beam and block floor on masonry underbuilding. Lower, the substructure changes to a timber and steel suspended floor. This allowed us to realise the architect’s vision to elevate the house above the ground as it slopes down to the loch and to use a small-batch concrete solution by founding the building directly onto the rock. We also designed a drainage system that was sensitive to the site and met stringent discharge requirements (due to nearby mussel farms on the loch).
Lochside House is tucked away in the peaceful folds of the land and has been carefully designed to feel integrated as part of the surroundings. It’s a modest and sustainable home that makes the most of but has minimal impact on its surroundings.
At a Glance
- Offices
- Architect of Record
- Haysom Ward Miller Architects
- Awards
- Royal Incorporation of Architects (RIBA) House of the Year 2018
- Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Award 2018
- Royal Institute of British Architects National Award 2018
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