rural design architects: the hen house, isle of skye

‘the hen house’ by rural design architects, fiscavaig, isle of skye, scottish highlands

image © andrew lee

all images courtesy of rural design architects

situated in the scottish highlands, the isle of skye is home to an idyllic rolling rusticity, one that local firm rural design architects seeks to incorporate into the overall gestalt of the vernacular architecture. ‘then hen house’ is a holiday getaway residence that eschews convention due to this very uniqueposition in the landscape. the architects resolved to raise the house on small pilotis as a method of releasing the design from the hills and to make useof wider context of the topography. deliberately narrowing northward and leaning into the weather, the home creates a relationship to the nearby fiscavaig,a norse word for ‘fish bay.’ the building’s form affords stunning views of a blue-skinned seascape and warm-colored mountainside. the entrance is a mini-bridge that further emphasizes the architecture as a visitor on the vast land, followed by a fully-glazed elevation to the north. asymmetrically placed windows further draw light into the structure and unvarnished timber orthogonally oppose the lines of the surrounding countryside and pitched roof.

the architects were challenged to design a home in a landscape that needed no intervention

image © andrew lee

simple materials brilliantly allow the house to simultaneously break and blend with the landscape

image © andrew lee

an angled roof continues a line of sight into the nearby bay, helped by the lift of the pilotis

image © andrew lee

the interiors are warmed by wooden floors and OSB walls

image © andrew lee

the northern wall is entirely glazed so as to make use of the stunning views

image © andrew lee

strategically placed windows pull in natural light to both floors

image © andrew lee

the hen house is a building centered around context

image © andrew lee

light wood framing and pilotis make up the bones of the building

image © andrew lee

model/ aperture view

image © andrew lee

model/ elevation view

image © andrew lee

(left): floor plan (right): elevation