Applecross

Wester Ross

The old clachans of Applecross were communities shaped around people, work and shared space. Many were lost through clearance. Now their memory is helping inspire a new community-led future.

Applecross Community Company is creating affordable homes and business spaces to help young people, families and key workers stay or return, support local enterprise and sustain this remote community.

Learning from the past
Working closely with the community, we are leading the design team to turn this ambition into a deliverable project. The plan draws on historic maps of the nearby cleared settlements of Achichork and Langwell, clustering homes and workplaces around pedestrian routes and shared spaces to create a contemporary interpretation of the clachan.

The design responds to the site's infrastructure, access and landscape constraints while using simple forms and local Torridonian sandstone to create a development rooted in its place.

Taking charge of the future
A settlement pattern associated with communities that were displaced is being reinterpreted by today's community as a way of strengthening its future. Our role is to help navigate the practical and technical challenges of making that happen, bringing together the community, consultants and statutory requirements to move the project towards delivery.

“We want to make sure this is a peopled landscape for centuries to come.”
Applecross Community Company