The Project

The house is located near Insch in Aberdeenshire, and is designed to demonstrate an alternative to the type of properties currently offered by volume developers. The design aims to provide an approach to rural design that is innovative, relates to its context and that can work on a larger scale. The design also seeks to stimulate revisions in our current thinking about rural house design, including the architectural design, and increased ecological awareness concentrating on more environmental-friendly design and use of local materials.

The client, Sylvan Stuart Ltd, is a timber frame building company, specialising in timber log buildings for the leisure, recreation and housing markets in rural areas. The clients’ aims were to develop alternative contemporary design proposals that would facilitate the provision of affordable, good quality and low-energy designs that utilise home-grown timber.

Use of Timber

The ‘Model D’ house was constructed almost entirely from home-grown timber, and designed to meet the Government’s ‘Zero- Carbon’ targets in new housing developments for 2016. It is built with an innovative doublestud system for wall and roof construction, which also accommodates a continuous use of polythene sheeting for maximum air tightness to meet the ‘Passivhaus’ standards.

Durability and a homogeneous appearance is provided by the meticulously detailed external rain screen which provides shading and privacy where required. The external rain screening is oven-treated homegrown Larch timber with a long life. The screening protects the inner Pine timber wall cladding, and also provides the house with its own microclimate.

The structural frame, including joists, rafters and panel and wall framing is fast growing Elite Sitka Spruce from Dumfries & Galloway. The rain screening posts and slats are heat-treated selected Scots pine from upper Deeside, and decking is Scots pine from Cairngorm National Park. First floor flooring is Scots pine, and the Ground floor flooring is Douglas fir. External wall cladding and soffits are Larch.