5 Houses Inremote Places

Those wanting to create a home in a faraway or hard-to-reach site often facespecific challenges. Solutions must be found for the provision of essentialservices, getting materials delivered to the plot, satisfying local planning laws,and designing with due respect for the setting. But it can be done, and withstunning results, as the following projects demonstrate. Building offthe beaten trackdemands ingenuityand determination.  WORDS JAYNE DOWLE 

5 Houses Inremote Places

This List 5 Houses Inremote Places :

1. INDUSTRIAL CONVERSION Seamus and Petrina Coxdreamt of building their own home in the wilds of WestCork, Ireland. They ended up buying a concrete seaurchin hatchery for around £131,610, and turning itinto a 232sqm, three-bedroom house with a first-floor studiofor Petrina, an artist who is inspired by the coastal light andAtlantic views. Architect Caroline Shortt of Barc Architects’bold design convinced the local planners to reclassify theindustrial building for residential use.‘We first considered a design for the exterior that is commonin the area – elegant in scale and with white-washed walls,’says Caroline. ‘But the proportions of the building are muchwider than a typical local cottage, and Seamus and Petrinawanted something more contemporary, so we departed fromtradition.’ Working to a budget of around £265,000, Carolineclad the converted building in corrugated metal to provideprotection against the harsh elements and help the houseblend in with the setting. 
2. PREFABRICATION SOLUTION. A degree of ingenuitywas required to build this one-bedroom holiday homefor a retired couple in Guaira, Paraguay, as the site ismore than 260 miles from the capital city, Asunción,and had no basic services. Architect Aldo CristaldoKegler of Bauen and his team devised a prefabricatedsteel and glass structure that rests on a platformsupported by three concrete walls to form the foundation. The steelswere kept as short as possible to make them easier to transport, andthe entire house was bolted together on site in seven days. ‘Myclients found the ideal plot where the landscape is the main feature,and they wanted the house to sit lightly on the land,’ says Aldo.The couple’s one-storey cantilevered home has 292sqmof living space, including an open-plan kitchen, dining andliving area, as well as a platform with 360-degree views of themagnificent countryside. Water is pumped from an undergroundwell and purified, and there’s a ground-source heat pump forpower. 
3. REPLACEMENT BUILD. This two-storey,three-bedroom farmhouse has beendesigned in a courtyard arrangement,with a detached garage at 90 degreesto the house to act as a buffer to the strongwinds that blow across Romney Marsh in Kent.The plot is part of a farm owned by the familyof farmers Freddie and Katie Pack. Working witha budget of £315,000, they built their home onthe site of a rundown 1950s cottage.Architect Rob Pollard of RX Architects ledthe project, which aimed to keep the long-termrunning costs and carbon emissions low. Thewell-insulated, 15sqm timber-frame house has4kWh solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof,which power an air-source heat pump to keep thecouple’s home cosy. On the ground floor, a guestbedroom doubles as a snug, and the open-planliving space leads to a larder, store room, utilityroom and WC/shower. Upstairs are two doublebedrooms, one with an en suite, and a familybathroom. Many of the rooms have far-reachingviews of the flat marshland. 
4. TIMBER DESIGN. Building a four-bedroom familyhome between a mountain and lake on the slopes ofthe Villarrica volcano in Molco, part of central Chile’sAraucanía region, presented a challenge – namely howto avoid condensation caused by the humidity of thesurrounding forest. The solution was to use naturalmaterials such as timber, which feature throughout the223sqm, two-storey property, including in the laser-cut externalcladding. Using wood enables the structure to breathe rather thanretain moisture, which could lead to damp.The home was designed for a family of four by architect LucasMaino. ‘My client was the project manager and, along with a crewof carpenters, he built the entire house,’ he says. ‘He took my advice,but devised many of the construction solutions himself to keep withina budget of around £104,930.’To bring in as much light as possible, several of the exterior wallshave full-height glazed panels, and the open-plan living area isdouble-aspect. ‘It was intended as a holiday home and somewhere toretire in the future,’ says Lucas. ‘But the family have spent much moretime in the house than they anticipated.’
5. BOTHY RESTORATION. Stone from a ruinedcroft was repurposedfor this single-storeybolthole on a promontoryabove Prince’s Beach on theIsle of Eriskay in the OuterHebrides, Scotland. The croftwas originally a home andthen changed use, hence itsname, Taigh-Bainne, whichmeans ‘dairy’ in Gaelic.Renovated for less than£100,000, the 30sqm bothyhas a studio with a pulldownbed, a kitchenette and ashower room. ‘Our clients,who have lived all over theworld for work, wanted a basein Scotland and spotted thebuilding on a cycling trip,’says architect Ruairidh Moirof Bard Ailteir. ‘They couldn’tbelieve its beauty, so theytook on the tenancy of thecroft land with the ruin on it.’A timber frame was builtto create an internal shell andsupport the new roof, and abig window added to capturethe seascape. Where possible,materials were repurposedor sourced locally. Thecontractor, who lives on theisland, walked home alongthe beach every eveningafter work