Studio KAP’s Cor-Ten steel addition to a hillside house in Argyll is designed to create visual links with its striking rural setting
Can you describe the project?
The project is a modest one-storey rear extension to an existing Victorian house with some internal remodelling. It is surrounded by 4ha of private garden and located on an elevated hillside in Argyll, Scotland. Our clients previously restored and upgraded the living room and bedrooms, and this latest project addresses the rear area to create a better kitchen and utility space/rear entrance.
The aim was to create visual links from their highly sociable kitchen to nearby spaces – both internally and externally – particularly to the striking rocky hill-scape where birds, deer and other wildlife can be observed and enjoyed from inside.
Who is the project for and what was the brief?
It is for a couple who have lived in the house for some time. The existing kitchen, although in poor condition, was the social heart of the home. Our clients wished to enlarge it and enhance its qualities significantly by bringing in more daylight and a sense of the stunning landscape immediately outside.
They were interested in creating something unique, well-crafted and bespoke and were open-minded about how this would look. They were also inspired by the quality of the work a contractor had already delivered for them in other parts of the house and decided to commission him for this further phase.
Were there any significant factors that influenced the design?
The modest budget, the limitations of existing structural walls and the challenge of adding a new structure that would connect with the existing house, both architecturally and technically. Working access was also tight, which complicated the build process. There were no difficulties with the local planning department, which considered the project (thankfully) uncontroversial.
Explain the external treatment of the project
A simple insulated timber frame structure is clad with high-quality material finishes (bespoke Cor-Ten metal cladding and aluminium glazing systems) which complement the existing palette of white rendered walls and traditional slate. The extension’s overall massing is designed to avoid interfering with the existing roof pitch and eaves line. In doing so, it reinforces its intrinsic supplementary role and the main house's overall architectural presence. Metal-clad ancillary accommodation is not untypical in rural Scottish agricultural and distillery groupings and we see this modest extension as belonging to that tradition.
How did you design the interiors?
We wanted to enhance the kitchen’s sociable characteristics from a ‘cooking space’ into a convivial and versatile place which could be enjoyed both with and without company. We connected it to the new rear entrance/utility/boot spaces at one corner and the adjoining sunroom snug at the other – the latter receiving new windows and a widening of the existing doorway. The kitchen now has views to the landscape in three different directions, yet the character of the space remains cosy. The clients exercised great care in selecting quality materials, kitchen fitments and furniture.
What was your approach to sustainability?
Primarily to future-proof the existing house with a material upgrade and by addressing some of the practicalities and opportunities of living in such a remote rural setting eg ample space for muddy boots and wet coats, views of the surrounding landscape and constructing for longevity. The latter informed our choice of Cor-Ten as a cladding material, rather than the more commonly-chosen timber or render. It was fabricated locally in a factory in Glasgow, which we visited to understand their process. The bespoke panels provide a robust, maintenance-free external jacket which will endure many Scottish winters.
What was the main challenge and how did you overcome it?
The typical challenge of working in rural areas is the lack of available and affordable contractors. We were lucky that our clients were patient and appreciative of the craft of design and building and that they already shared mutual trust with a local contractor. This laid the foundations for an unusual but highly fruitful working relationship, making space and time to ‘build well’.
What is your favourite detail in the project?
Externally, it is how such a simple cubic form appears relaxed and content adjoined to the existing building, despite using very different materials. Internally, it is how the clients have exercised their design judgement in their choice of materials, fitted joinery and furniture to help us to create a place where one wants to linger and return to again and again.
Are there lessons from this project which might be applied elsewhere?
When extending a house, genuine quality and character can result from the careful design of complementary forms and materials, rather than a continuation of the existing building.
Christopher Platt is co-director and founder at Studio KAP
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Key data:
Total contract cost £191,654
Area of extension and kitchen 44m2
GIFA cost per m2 £4,355
Credits
Client Private
Contractor Alan Cory
Engineer Narro