The Long House (featured on Grand Designs)
Long House -Barbour Road, Kilcreggan, Bute and Argyle. 3 stacked floors of accomodation.
A home fit for TV
A Long House is a domestic residence extruded on a linear plan – in this case South West out + over the Clyde Sea. While achieving 3 stacked floors of accommodation it is well grounded on a precarious steeply sloping site on the end of an exposed peninsula on a red brick retaining wall and slender steel structure which created an accessible entry level plinth. Before the cruck ..that was the crux !
A plinth set the scene for a resilient and energy efficient home to be tracked through construction as part of Channel 4 ‘s Grand Designs. Filmed in 2003 and revisited in 2004, it explored a domestic tradition that prevailed locally in the Viking era and after - the Wooden Long House.
With the scene set and ominous Trident Submarines cruising - This was an exploration into new maritime sighted architecture that elaborated on the local traditions of Green Oak Cruck Framing and maritime engineering. - Crucks being equal split halves of native trees that had curved their trunks naturally on Argyll hillsides to correct to vertical and find the light.
First gallery - exterior focus
A Viking Saga of a House
The expressed Oak Frame was carefully tailored to sit sculpturally on bespoke Stainless steel stantion's that became part of the furniture of the house. Every junction being celebrated and held by oak peg or stainless steel dowel.
The exterior fabric was tuned carefully to its site+ Climate via: zinc roofs, tailored rainwater goods, larch cladding, Sto polymer render and aluminium clad windows. The Seaward Gable and overshooting roof were oversized to receive a suspended Loch long viewing deck, that the budget (as with most Grand designs houses) did not achieve.
A Viking Saga of a House, that bravely entered into a dream state dialogue with the seascape both in its materiality and loch long form.
Second gallery - interior focus
Approved by Kevin Macleod
Note _ " Loch Long " = A native leisure sailing boat trimmed to these particular "Clyde Sea" Conditions )
Just what Channel 4 required …A Viking Saga of a House.
Kevin Macleod said of the house “it seems to float .. in an ever varying and increasing relationship … with the sea “
Completed 2004
Client – Joe + Anthony Moffat
Architect – Andrew McAvoy
Engineer – Mike Dewar – Dewar Associates
Main Contractor – Stewart + Shields
Oak + Timber Frame – Contractor – Carpenter Oak + Woodland - Scotland