Dualchas Building Design

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Breakish Community Centre, Isle of Skye

Dualchas Building Design were invited to enter a limited competition for a new Breakish community centre. Our response to the brief is a simple, light-filled structure, using the best of traditional vernacular Scottish architecture and modern technology and materials.

It would be built of larch, glass, stone, and with a pitched roof of slate, corrugated metal or turf. The building is low, simple and of a form appropriate to its site and uses the traditional houses, agricultural buildings, sheds and byres of Breakish as inspiration. It is narrow, avoiding the ‘huge roof’ seen locally, which is not in keeping with the surrounding vernacular. Stone is proposed in dry construction, avoiding modern cement based mortars.

Our design creates a simple, bright café space open to eaves with views west and north, opening onto an outside play area and inside to a more intimate musicians space and soft room for toddlers.

The route from the car park is defined by a simple dry-stone wall with a shelter for bikes and prams etc. This helps create a simple sunny outdoor children’s play space adjacent to the hall, soft room and toilets. It also provides two offices in the eaves, with a top lit staircase bringing light into the hall below.