LOW POINT


“We chose our own supplier for the windows, and we were unlucky. If I was doing it again, I would stick with the contractor’s choice.”


themselves and their three young girls who were all under eight at the time.”


THE VISION James and Lorna’s brief was to design a modern steading with an abundance of light and lots of room for their three small children to play. However, James explains how they’re the “kind of family that likes to break off and have time to ourselves.” He adds: “So, while we wanted to create warm, family-friendly areas we wanted to offer everyone their own space if they needed it.”


Family-friendly areas didn’t necessarily mean open plan, as James is keen to point out: “Lorna and I had that conversation and Lorna decided that the kitchen and dining room should be more enclosed, so she didn’t have an audience when she was cooking dinner.”


Loader Monteith carried out a site and charac- ter analysis of the area and using the site of the existing steading albeit slightly larger, the design that Iain and Matt came up with was not what James was expecting. Taking their inspiration from the strong geometry that is often found on agricultural sites, the architects drew on this to


jul/aug 2022


split up the rooine o the new steading. nstead o having one long profile, they played with the skyline to suggest three pitched red gables which increase in volume from east to west. “The three buildings and the three peaks


were a curveball,” James recalls. “When I said modern steading, I also wasn’t expecting a walled garden and a courtyard with a well in the middle. The well had been discovered during the demolition of the steading. I think these ideas came from the architects visiting other sites in the area and seeing what used to be there. It was totally unexpected, but as a design it worked so well.” Another exterior feature that James hadn’t envisaged is the practical pergola – a semi- covered walkway that links the house to James’ karate studio and ofice. ts a very eposed site and very windy. Most of the farm buildings in the area tend to be horseshoe-shaped to shield the workers from the wind,” says Iain. “Choosing a courtyard design not only echoes the buildings that were there but offers protection from the elements.” However, while James wanted to be protected from the weather, they also wanted to see it and thats why the architects specifically lo-


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