Whether an idyllic time or not, the hard work has paid off and the reclaimed bricks juxtaposed with the oak flooring create a pleasing flow and uniformity throughout the house


ing that I was nowhere near my daily target of a hundred bricks!”


An idyllic time or not, the hard work has paid


off and the reclaimed bricks juxtaposed with the oak ooring create a pleasing ow and uniorm- ity throughout the house. This lovely feature posed a few problems for the architects and Loader Monteith had to overcome the challenge o incorporating underoor heating eneath the layer of thick brick by digging foundations of 90 cm. owever, this solution allows the rick oor to act as a thermal store throughout the day while radiating a gentle warmth during the night. In the vestibule the bricks take on a more significant aesthetic role, firmly rooting the prop- erty’s ‘Ceangal’, which means Gaelic for bond or link in its landscape. A display of bricks from the different quarries has been created and there’s also a full wall of Hamilton bricks at the entrance – Hamilton being the family’s surname. “To be honest, I was a little nervous about that feature, ut now its finished it works well with the ete- rior and most people get the joke.” The vestibule provokes opinion from both cli- ent and architect alike. “James and Lorna were quite keen about how they came in from this rural setting into their home. The vestibule is


54 www.sbhonline.co.uk


like a little ante chamber. There’s this tension in coming from the open landscape into this little chamber which embraces you. When the door is closed you don’t know what’s beyond and then it opens up to the light and the view right through the house. ts oored with glazed dairy ricks, which are more practical and have a darker and smoother texture than those used elsewhere in the house.


James adds: “You come from the outside into this dark room, and you go from there into the main house and it’s all bright and airy again. It’s a bit like going into a tomb and coming out into the light. It’s a very dramatic effect. I liken it to a Resurrection Motif.”


Despite the pandemic, the house was com- pleted in August 2021 and now that the family have had time to bed in, does James feel that Ceangal House delivers as expected? “The connection between the rooms and the roof divisions was definitely something the architects brought to the table that I hadn’t envisioned, and the courtyard space is something different that really works. This farm has been in Lorna’s family for generations, and I wanted this house to be comfortable but a stimulating place to live in, and Iain and Matt have achieved that.”


jul/aug 2022


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