RIBA House of the Year 2018: inside the off-grid cottage in the snowy Scottish Highlands named as this year's best new home
A remote, off-grid crofter’s house in the Scottish Highlands has been named RIBA House of the Year 2018.
Lochside House , a humble, sustainable home embedded in a beautiful rugged landscape on the edge of a glassy lake, saw off stiff competition from six other shortlisted new-builds designed by architects around the UK.
It was announced as the winner during the final episode of Grand Designs: House of the Year on Wednesday night by presenter Kevin McCloud, who has been touring the country to explore the 20 houses longlisted by the Royal Institute of British Architects during a four-part Channel 4 series.
Designed by HaysomWardMiller Architects, Lochside House blends so seamlessly into its surroundings you’d be hard pushed to find it with a map. Crafted from burnt Scottish larch cladding and drystone walls, from afar it looks like little more than a community of sheds that has somehow emerged from the ground
In fact, the house is formed of three finely-crafted buildings huddled together. The roofing echoes the mountains and the walls pick up the horizontal sediments of the rocks.
Owner Michelle, a ceramic artist, is inspired by nature and drawn to the freedom of empty, barren places.
The houses in the running for Riba House of the Year 2018
“I fell in love with the Scottish Highlands on a camping trip after university and dreamt one day of renovating or building a place to live and work,” she said.
“When I stumbled across the site in 2010 I knew immediately that I’d found the perfect spot and the process since then has been incredibly exciting. I was so lucky to find an architect who shared my sense of the importance of the place and am delighted that the final result – my home – does justice to its magical setting.”
Everything had to be designed to be small enough to fit on the back of a trailer and driven down the long, off-road track that leads to the site. Services were unable to reach it, so Lochside House is powered by the sun and water is pulled up through a borehole.
Inside, it is pared-back and beautiful, dominated by white oil timber and rough textured plaster. The delightfully modest rooms are entirely liveable and everything flows naturally. The changing height of the ceiling helps designate the different spaces and the view of the lake from the master bedroom is magical.
The RIBA judges loved the choice of materials and respectful integration of Lochside House into its wild setting. Ben Derbyshire, RIBA president, described it as “truly breathtaking”.
“By containing its scale, sensitively positioning the crop of buildings on a promontory around established trees, and making use of local materials, HaysomWardMiller have created a home which perfectly responds to its exposed, unique location,” he said.
“With a highly sustainable, off-grid approach to energy and water, it leaves the surrounding environment as undisturbed as possible. Every detail has been fine-tuned to create an exceptional home and studio that meets the needs and wishes of its artist owner. Lochside House is the perfect addition to this dream landscape.”
McCloud fully supported the judges’ decision. “This building has been tailored to its site. It’s been stitched and woven…seamed into the tapestry of this place and it is so much the better for it,” he said. “It’s the kind of architecture that we can all easily love, the kind of architecture we can all easily learn from; and it’s a way of building that we, in Britain, are getting really very good at.”
THE RUNNERS-UP...
The shortlisted houses who just missed out on the top prize were:
Red House by 31/44 Architects, a "rebellious" end-of-terrace home in East Dulwich
Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths+ Amin Taha, a controversial glass and steel residence in Henley
Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu, a farm shed turned contemporary home in New Yorkshire
Coastal House by 6a Architects, an elegantly modernised, 20th-century home in South Devon
VEX by Chance de Silva & Scanner, an experimental concrete house in Stoke Newington inspired by a 24-hour long piano piece
Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects, an off-grid crofter's house in Scotland
The Makers House by Liddicoat & Goldhill, an exemplar of craftsmanship in Hackney
Previous RIBA House of the Year winners include Richard Murphy Architects for Murphy House last year, Skene Catling de la Peña for Flint House in 2015, Loyn & Co for Stormy Castle in 2014 and Carl Turner Architects for Slip House in 2013.