Boreraig

Glendale, Isle Of Skye

A croft inherited from his mother offered Dominic Houlder the chance to deepen a lifelong connection with Skye. He wanted a home for himself and his partner, Lukas, shaped by dignity, quiet and contemplation—qualities he recognised in both Buddhist and Presbyterian traditions.

Creating a place
The exposed roadside site had few obvious features and the sea lay some distance away. Rather than relying on a single view, the design creates its own sense of place. Three low, narrow elements contain the living spaces, bedrooms and studio, adapting the principles of the Highland blackhouse without reproducing it literally.

A stone wall inspired by crofting stackyards and fanks separates cars and arrival from the landscape. In front of the house, a natural bowl was dammed to form a lochan, bringing water close to the interior and establishing a new wildlife habitat.

Materials and performance
Stone, larch and metal are drawn from the ordinary language of the crofting landscape, then handled with precision. A crisp larch rainscreen, honed Caithness stone and carefully gridded oak panelling create a warm, restrained interior. Heavy insulation, external shutters and an air-source heat pump respond to the exposed Hebridean climate.

Client story
Dominic found Dualchas through friends and developed the project with Neil Stephen over several years while funds were assembled. Their conversations explored personality, spirituality and the life of the household as closely as form and materials.

“The key to our collaboration was to engage with the life that would be lived in this remarkable house,” Dominic recalls. He describes the result as a home in which it is difficult to be anything but calm and happy, settled in the land.

Awards and recognition
Boreraig received an RIAS Award, the Scottish Design Award for Best Residential Building and a Saltire Award and Silver Medal in 2012. It was shortlisted for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award 2012.

The house has been published internationally, including features in Dezeen and ArchDaily, and appeared on Channel 4's George Clarke's Amazing Spaces.

What the judges said
“This new home is deceptively simple in form, a calm, contemplative space. The external timber ensures that the building does not intrude upon its natural setting.”

Neil Baxter, RIAS Secretary, RIAS Awards 2012