{"id":765898,"date":"2024-11-29T08:19:09","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T08:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=765898"},"modified":"2024-11-29T12:40:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T12:40:38","slug":"wt-architecture-completes-two-bedroom-coastal-cabin-in-sutherland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/wt-architecture-completes-two-bedroom-coastal-cabin-in-sutherland","title":{"rendered":"WT Architecture completes two-bedroom coastal cabin in Sutherland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sitting against the backdrop of a small hillside with views out to the distant Isle of Lewis, the house sits in a designated national nature reserve and site of special scientific interest (SSSI) with the nearest main road over a mile away along a single-track.<\/p>\n

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Its exterior is clad in British ash and plays on traditional typologies of Scottish and northern European single-storey buildings. Its geometry is faceted and streamlined to work with the terrain and the prevailing winds, which regularly gust to over 100mph.<\/p>\n

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Internally, open-plan spaces, lined in oak-veneered, low-VOC recycled wood, run through the building, with changes in ceiling heights achieved through sloped roof lines and floor level changes.<\/p>\n

A deeply recessed, sheltered entrance on the leeward side of the building leads into a central dining hall, which sits at the heart of the house. A living space occupies the narrow section of the building looking south and west, with the kitchen space facing east, while the two bedrooms are arranged on split levels alongside further service spaces.<\/p>\n

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Architect\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

As the namesake suggests, our design approach to Taigh na Coille is rooted in a deep and careful response to the site\u2019s topography and climate.<\/p>\n

A core ambition of the project was to minimise the local and global environmental impacts of the building by adopting a rigorous approach to sustainability that was holistic, defined, measurable and robust. The design targeted the most stringent standards of the RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge, which will be tested now that the building is in use.<\/p>\n

The house is clad in thermally modified British ash, sustainably sourced from GiB-certified UK woodlands. Cladding has been left untreated to avoid the use of paints or other treatments that might cause pollutant run-off over time from rainwater, allowing the initial golden colour of the cladding to naturally weather to a silver grey.<\/p>\n

The raw aluminium roof sheets will similarly weather sympathetically; developing a chalky patina in the salty environment, which blends seamlessly with the natural heath flora and surrounding outcrops of Lewisian gneiss. Internally the whole house is lined with oak-veneered, low-VOC recycled wood panelling, producing an interior finish that is visually warm and welcoming.<\/p>\n

The house is constructed to Passivhaus levels of insulation and airtightness and uses triple glazing throughout. A mix of healthier wood fibre and mineral wool alternatives for insulation materials have been used to avoid the use of high embodied-energy plastic insulation materials.<\/p>\n

Much of the structure, made from a combination of engineered timber, was prefabricated off-site resulting in a high carbon sequestration and a very low embodied energy building.<\/p>\n

The building has been designed to sit above the ground on short steel posts, avoiding the need for deep excavations or lots of concrete. What little concrete was required was kept to an absolute minimum, using small prefabricated pads under the building to eliminate waste and avoid any potential sources of pollution on site.<\/p>\n

The building incorporates a range of renewable technologies; A highly efficient heat-recovery ventilation system, solar water heating panels, solar PV panels and battery storage, and even a system to recycle heat from the shower drains.<\/p>\n

Building on our experience of designing for the climatic demands of some of Scotland\u2019s wildest landscapes, this project is yet another example of our ambitions to make buildings timeless in their materiality and relationship to the context they sit in.
\nThomas Fitzgerald, project architect, WT Architecture<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Project data<\/h3>\n

Start on site<\/strong> August 2022
\nCompletion date<\/strong> August 2024
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong> 111m2
\n<\/sup>Gross (internal + external) floor area<\/strong> 148m2<\/sup>
\nForm of contract or procurement route<\/strong> Traditional, SBCC SBC\/Q\/Scot
\nConstruction cost<\/strong> Undisclosed
\nArchitect<\/strong> WT Architecture
\nClient<\/strong> Private
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> Narro Associates
\nQS<\/strong> McLeod & Aitken
\nPrincipal designer<\/strong> WT Architecture
\nMain contractor<\/strong> Spey Building & Joinery
\nCAD software used<\/strong> Graphisoft Archicad<\/p>\n

Environmental performance data<\/h3>\n

Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >2%<\/strong> 81%
\nPercentage of floor area with daylight factor >5%<\/strong> 44%
\nOn-site energy generation<\/strong> 52% (full occupation) \/ 157% (intermittent occupation: likely nominal 30% annual rate)
\nAirtightness at 50pa<\/strong> 93 m3\/h.m2<\/sup>
\nHeating and hot water load<\/strong> < 60 kwh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr (full occupation); < 20 kwh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr\u00a0(intermittent occupation: likely nominal 30% annual rate)
\nOverall area-weighted u-value<\/strong> 19 w\/m2<\/sup>k
\nAnnual CO2 emissions (B6)<\/strong> 10 KgCO2eq\/m2<\/sup>\/a (full occupation); < 5 KgCO2eq\/m2<\/sup>\/a (intermittent occupation: likely nominal 30% annual rate)
\nEmbodied carbon (A1-A3)<\/strong> -40 KgCO2eq\/m2 <\/sup>Note: Embodied carbon for modules A1-A3 calculated using DesignLCA 1 and ICE Database 3.0, including carbon sequestration values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sitting against the backdrop of a small hillside with views out to the distant Isle of Lewis, the house sits in a designated national nature reserve and site of special scientific interest (SSSI) with the nearest main road over a mile away along a single-track. \u00a0 Its exterior is clad in British ash and plays …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32845,"featured_media":765944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[91482,76383,5973],"yoast_head":"\nWT Architecture completes two-bedroom coastal cabin in Sutherland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 111m2 two-bedroom house on the exposed north-west coast of Scotland is faceted to work with the site\u2019s terrain and the prevailing wind\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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