C
hatting with Ryan Urquhart about the home he has designed and built for his young family, you have to admire both his
determination to ‘do something different,’ and to complete so much of the work himself. In Aberdeenshire, where of course granite is the traditional construction material, Ryan chose to get to grips with 21st-century alternatives to create a very modern-looking house. Even he admits he was “pretty nervous” when he applied for planning permission to build on what was part of a farmyard near the village of Mintlaw: “The design I put forward was quite bold,” he says. He needn’t have worried – not only did he get the thumbs-up from the local planning authority, but, according to Ryan: “They loved the design, the uniqueness of it and planning went through without a hitch.”
The home he now shares with wife Jemma and three-year-old daughter Miley is laid out in a roughly T-shaped way at ground level with three bedrooms on the east side, a carport and utility room to the west.
Running north to south along the open-plan spine are the kitchen, dining area and the family liing space, which benefits from countryside views. An external west-facing canopy allows the family to enjoy the afternoon and evening sun. The smaller first-oor section of the house is
where you find the master bedroom with ensuite dressing room and bathroom, plus more south- facing views through big windows.
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www.sbhonline.co.uk
Of course, it’s the view of this modernist house
itself from its surroundings that has attracted the most attention locally. The design is a collection of interlocking square and rectangular boes, topped by at roofs that at first-oor level feature an overhang to protect rooms from getting too hot in the summer sun. s a ualified architectural technician, Ryan
already had some of the relevant know-how to embark on this self-build project, but it was probably the example of his father that first planted the seed of the idea. y dad, a carpenter by trade, built the house where I grew up, so I’d say that watching him do that was absolutely an inspiration.”
He continues: “I always knew in my head that I wanted to do a self-build at some point and I knew I wanted something modernist – I like straight edges and at roofs. wanted to do something different and special but something that still suited the location.” oweer, deciding the final layout and look of the self-build was no easy task. Ryan reveals: “A lot of it was considered with views and sunlight in mind. I must have gone through a dozen sketch pads, sketching and resketching, working my way through so many different ideas. “Eventually, Jemma and I were on a train
journey somewhere – I started sketching again, did the layout, a bit of a perspective elevation and we just went, yeah, that’s it! We’ve got it.” Finding a site for the project was also a challenging endeavour. After looking at close to
jul/aug 2023
HIGH POINT
“I loved getting hands on with every part of the building, but the high point was working with the ICF. I did so much of it myself and although I was a bit daunted by it before I started it turned out to be easy to work with. Throughout I was always expecting a hitch, but it was a real buzz – I really enjoyed it and I couldn’t be happier with the result.” – Ryan Urquhart
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