The #GC2022 finalists are out! Read more.

search
×
menu
login
donate
Hen House
Fiscavaig, Isle of Skye, United Kingdom
follow
share on:mail linkcopy link to clipboardShare via LinkedInShare via TwitterShare via FacebookShare via Facebook
A small holiday house located in the township of Fiscavaig on th

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
Category:
housing
Phase:
in use
Design:
Rural Design
Updated:
17 January 2013
introduction

On the first visit on the site it was difficult to see how any proposal could succeed if it disrupted a landscape that did not lend itself to intervention. The gentle undulations present evoked the timeless character of Skye and its underlying geology.

"Untouched since the Ice Age, it seemed presumptuous that we, in our short time, should alter the site to suit our own purposes...", by Rural Design

The decision to lift the building off the ground on short concrete columns resolved our dilemma, released us from convention, and allowed the house to relate to the wider context - the views to the north and the sun from the south.

The form of the house deliberately narrows to the north, reducing its surface area, concentrating the view and leaning into the weather, while the cellular support spaces are clustered to the south. The lighthouse in the distance acts as a beacon to draw the focus of the house.

 

Fiscavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
cultural and social context

The entrance bridge lifts one off the landscape and immediately upon entering one is drawn to the fully-glazed elevation to the north. 

Fiskavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
Fiskavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
read more >
< read less
materials and building techniques

The structure of the house is deliberately on display and the flying central beam that stiffens the structure provides scale to the large volume.

Fiskavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
Fiscavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
read more >
< read less
image gallery
Fiscavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
Fiscavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
Fiskavaig Rural Design

image: Andrew Lee | © all rights reserved
i
technical drawings
Fiscavaig Rural Design

image: Rural Design | © all rights reserved
i
Fiscavaig Rural Design

image: Rural Design | © all rights reserved
i
Location
show earth plate boundarieshide earth plate boundaries
Explore more inspirations
Keyword:
cli­mate (35)
landscape (13)
wood (36)
prev
  •  education
    Ecole du Scarabée / Scarab School
    north of timbuktu, Mali
  •  housing
    Tipi
    U.S.A.
  •  housing
    Ruca Dwellings
    Huechuraba, Chile
  • play
     meeting place
    StadtGoesFuture-Culthäusle
    Filderstadt-Plattenhardt, Germany
  •  infrastructure
    Bridge to the forest - Puente al bosque
    Boruca (Indigenous territory), Costa Rica
  •  housing
    "After the rain comes..."
    Msitu wa Tembo, Tanzania
  •  urban planning
    arcosanti
    Arizona, U.S.A.
  • play
     work & business
    Transforming Puffed Rice Making MicroBusiness Unit
    Dharwad, India
  •  housing
    Chen house
    Sanjhih, Taiwan
  •  education
    Preparatory Academy Energy Lab
    Kamuela, Hawaii, U.S.A.
  •  housing
    Izba
    Moscow Oblast, Russia
  • GC2022 finalist
     housing
    Mini-Cyclone Shelter for Vulnerable Communities.
    Bhola, Bangladesh
  •  meeting place
    Tusen Restaurante
    Ramundberget, Sweden
  •  education
    Ithuba Community College
    Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa
  •  recreation & sport
    Sala Visitor Centre
    Hua Hin Hills, Thailand
  •  housing
    Casa Verde
    San Juan de Uraba, Colombia
  •  meeting place
    Farmers' Innovation Center (BLF)
    Angangba (Nagaland), India
  •  education
    Bethel Secondary School
    Gourcy, Burkina Faso
  •  education
    Senior Citizen’s Library
    Bhatpore Village Surat, India
  •  education
    SAL Exhibition Pavilion/Learning by Making
    Ahmedabad, India
  •  emergency shelter
    Bamboo Dome Structure
    Ramsar, Iran
  •  education
    Polyvalent Cultural Center in Senegal
    Tanaff, Senegal
  • play
     education
    Community Center for Indigenous music/ environment
    Tuba, Philippines
  •  housing
    Net-Zero Self-sufficient Home
    Bafoussam, Cameroon
  •  education
    Ali Apple Elementary School
    Ali, China
  •  health & sanitation
    Hygiene Station for Cattlefield Village School
    Yunnan, China
  • play
    GC2022 finalist
     education
    The Baitussalam School
    Jacobabad, Pakistan
  •  housing
    Rehabilitation for a resettlement area in SocTrang
    Soc Trang, Vietnam
  • play
     education
    The House of Biomaterials
    Rishikesh, India
  •  education
    Majuli School / GENERATING RESILIENCE
    majuli, India
  •  housing
    Kampung Kali Chode, Yogyakarta
    Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  •  emergency shelter
    Living Tebogo
    Johannesburg, South Africa
  •  education
    Gando Primary School
    Gando, Burkina Faso
  •  health & sanitation
    The Rain and the Umbrellas
    Bekasi Regency, Indonesia
  •  education
    Kargyak Learning Center
    Kargayak, India
next