The site of an architectural intervention, often also interchangeably used with context, or the resonance that intervention shares with its immediate environment—built or otherwise—is not only an important determinant in the overall success of the scheme but also among the very first ones that the architects have to consider. It is a condition that may or may not be fully suited to the architect’s hand. Whether that site is owed more than what it offers to the building through a set of pre-existing constraints and opportunities, or vice-versa, is an interesting relationship to reflect upon. A near side-by-side contrast between Andrea Palladio’s Villa Rotonda from the 16^th century, and Corbusier’s early 20^th century showcase of modern sensibilities in Villa Savoye formulated in Colin Rowe’s Mathematics of the Ideal Villa alludes to this Virgilian obsession with site in search of the elusive ‘ideal’ in the title of the text. “The site is as pleasant and delightful as can be found because it is upon a small hill of very easy access,” states Palladio on Villa Rotonda. “The site, a vast curved lawn in a flattened dome; the house is a box in the air in the middle of the meadows overlooking the orchard. It is in its rightful place in the rustic landscape of Poissy. (Their) domestic life will be inserted into a Virgilian dream,” states Corbusier on the site of Villa Savoye.

The same romanticism for a haven of domestic life in the middle of nowhere, away from urban centres, has certainly been prompted anew post the pandemic, almost as if pointing to the idealness of the dwelling being not so much in the language or validity of the architecture response as much as in returning to a more primaeval, connected way of living. The more simplistic response to that, bypassing the social, economic, and even historical precedents tailing such a move back to the idleness of the countryside, is “amidst nature”, for everything it may embody for the individual. With the same discussion as subtext, the bucolic landscape around Loch Awe serves as the backdrop for a home for an expanding family over three generations. Named ‘Hundred Acre Wood’, in a probable nod to A.A. Milne’s world, the dwelling—its situation more than its design—makes the pursuit of that ‘ideal’ seem valid even when being contrasted against architectures of a different time altogether.

“The main challenge of the brief was how to create an architecture appropriate for the setting which contained no other built context,” states the team of designers at Denizen Works, led by Andrew Ingham, through an official release. Yet again, the site and context (or the lack of it) are both a constraint and an opportunity, as the architects considered drawing from the history of Scottish architecture, sculpture, and the climatology of the region in drawing up an architectural intervention in the absence of an immediate built context. The sculptural inspiration, mostly from the works of Eduardo Chillida, is primarily visible in the mostly unyielding quality of its concrete edifice, with further reflections on the concrete being responsive to, and almost as if in willowy conversation with, the rugged and exposed terrain of the site. The reposes in the formic, concrete relief of the house—its openings—occur as a response to the place’s harsh climatic conditions and in a bid to capitalise the best views across the paysage agreste and bucolic expanse of Loch Awe that the residents sought in their living. 

Another constraint that ultimately aids the outcome is planning permission in perpetuity for a small 1.5-storey cabin on the site from before the purchase of the land by the client’s family. In response, the architects’ proposals, developed in close consultation with the clients over an extended period, responded to this profile limitation by maintaining a narrow elevation along its Western side that overlooks the loch. While the overall form, conceived as a sculptural concrete shell that is also a protective barrier, follows and responds to prevailing winds and the movement of the sun, the building’s setting out in a hollow and largely within the site’s topographical context helps maintaining the same profile along the longer elevations by the Northern and Southern sides.

The internal schematics of the house were drawn around a large central hall that, while initially responding to the family’s desire to accommodate an 18-foot Christmas tree during the winter holidays, seems to anchor the space and perceivably separate volumes. The family also wished for this space to reflect on the personalities of the family members, including an increasing number of grandchildren, and prove to be a lasting legacy along with the home. The double-height hall is further enclosed by a protective inhabitable wall that ensconces the primary accommodations. Along the South, the living and dining spaces affront prime views of the landscape, while the bedrooms attempt to make the most of the sparsely available sun through their placement in the double storey residential wing, comprising an additional single-bed dormitory. The windows, as opposed to curtain glass facia to fully capitalise on the expanse of the views, are instead conceptualised as deep reveals within the undulating thick concrete walls, adding to the intended sculptural quality.

The concrete cladding adds to the rustic, rugged material feel that could blend as well as identify discreetly with the landscape. Two different concrete aggregates by way of scale are applied to different parts of the elevation to mimic as well as amplify the differential effect of concrete aging and reacting to the rain and sun, contributing to what the architects state is the “changeable character of the building throughout the day”. Conceived as a contemporary take on traditional Scottish harling, the concrete aggregates in the cladding use a special glass chipping created from recycled TV screens collected in Scotland, doubling up as a jive on the family’s disdain of televisions. 

The house’s sustainability measures go hand in hand with the remoteness of the settlement, and occur as second nature rather than as appendages to the design process. A ground source heat pump provides for the heating needs of the house, both water and temperature regulation, amplified by its rather isolated placement in the wilderness. While a private borehole caters to the water needs of the whole house, reed beds aid in the treatment of wastewater as rainwater is mostly discharged back into the lochan to the east of the house. Designed and built over roughly eight years, Hundred Acre Wood’s pursuit of the ‘ideal’ comes to be retrospectively holistic as it seeks to respond to an absent built and fleeting physical context.

Project Details

Name: Hundred Acre Wood
Location: Loch Awe, Argyll and Bute
Architect: Denizen Works
Gross Internal Floor Area: 650 sq.m.
Structural Engineer: CRA
Quantity Surveyor: Morham and Brotchie Partnership
Main Contractor: Colorado Construction