our design ethos

Rural Scotland and Ireland have seen a surge in the building of timber framed 'kit' houses in recent years. Now they are becoming popular in rural England and Wales. Yet although the technology has been praised, the kit-house designs are seen as ugly and inappropriate.

Yet the solution is simple.

Our company brings you an alternative; a building which combines the benefits of modern technology, such as Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) construction, with a design flair that respects the beauty and heritage of our countryside.

The modern longhouse

	Shown above: LH201 front elevation and sketch of LH101 front elevation.

While the long house is synonymous with the "blackhouse" of the Scottish Hebrides it is also the traditional housing of much of northern Europe. Examples are the Viking dwellings of Scandinavia, the byre-dwellings of Ireland and the cruck-framed cottages of rural England.

While these buildings vary in detail, they share certain characteristics.

• They are only one room deep
• The narrow form allows the building to slot easily in to the landscape
• The walls may be easily spanned
• They respond to the climate
• The form is simple and well proportioned

Combining these attributes with modern interiors, high specification Super Low-Emittance (Low-E) glazing, super-insulated SIP construction and an attention to detail only found in architect-designed houses, we have produced a range of homes which we are confident can not be matched.

The whitehouse

The classic traditional cottage of rural Scotland is the "whitehouse". This stone building is characterised by its white rendered walls, slate roof and dormer windows. These houses became commonplace across Scotland in various forms, and largely replaced the blackhouse in the Highlands.

Most of these houses were built to a pattern-book design and were generally two-up two down. While the design is simple in its concept, attempts to utilise its features in modern kit houses have produced poor results. It's like a suburban house has had "cottage features" added. The reason that these buildings look wrong is that a basic element is missing: proportion.

Our designs follow the proportions of the original whitehouse, meaning that they will have a continuity with history and fit into the landscape. But as with our longhouse range, we also provide modern interiors, high specification glazing and insulation. The result? A range of houses which will be appreciated by this generation and future generations to come.