Lochside House, a breathtaking new home in the West Highlands designed by HaysomWardMiller Architects has been named the 2018 RIBA House of the Year.
Lochside House looks as though it's grown out of the ground.
It's a small-scale, sustainable home made from local materials, which sits on the edge of a lake in the West Highlands.
“This building has been tailored to its site. It’s been stitched and woven… seamed in to the tapestry of this place, and it is so much the better for it," said Kevin McCloud.
The house is formed of three finely-crafted buildings, huddled together, and a separate studio for the owner who is a ceramic artist.
The buildings are tucked into a natural fold in the landscape, clad in burnt Scottish larch and protected by a traditional drystone wall. They appear almost camouflaged.
Each has been carefully designed around established trees with roofs that echo the mountains in the distance.
Lochside House is perfectly integrated into this wild, rugged, rocky and windswept landscape.
Due to its remote location, the house is completely off-grid: all energy comes from the sun and water is pulled up from a borehole. It leaves the surrounding environment as undisturbed as possible.
"It wasn't straightforward," said Tom Miller, the architect of Lochside House. "It was only possible because we had a client with the uncompromising determination and vision to keep pushing us to achieve our best, and a contractor’s team for whom we have enormous respect - they seemed to thrive on the unique challenges posed by building on such an exposed and inaccessible site."
Inside, the rooms are comfortably sized with a pared-back aesthetic.
Walls are lined in white oiled timber, surfaces are skimmed with a rough textured plaster and large windows at varying heights capture the stunning views.
"Inside, the spaces merge with the artist owner's art collection, and there is an overwhelming sense of comfort, warmth and homeliness." said the Chair of the RIBA Jury, Takero Shimazaki. "It's an example of humble, grounded, contextual yet powerful architecture that people can aspire to and be inspired by.”
Lochside House was chosen from a shortlist of seven buildings:
- Pheasants by Sarah Griffiths + Amin Taha
- Red House by 31/44 Architects
- Coastal House by 6a Architects
- Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu
- Lochside House by HaysomWardMiller Architects
- VEX by Chance de Silva & Scanner
- The Makers House by Liddicoat & Goldhill
Have you designed or commissioned the next RIBA House of the Year? Enter it for the RIBA Awards 2019 to have it considered for next year's award. Entries open on 12 December.
RIBA House of the Year 2018 is sponsored by Forterra.
