2 August 2009

'Shed' among Britain's best new buildings

An award-winning house in rural Perthshire has been nominated as one of 'Britain’s Best New Buildings'.

Drummond House near Meigle, popularly known as 'The Shed', was designed by Graeme Hutton, Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Dundee, and his late colleague David Jameson, of LJRH Architects.

The house has already been honoured with a Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) Award and a Scottish Design Award. Now it is one of the designs highlighted in the `Britain’s Best New Buildings’ poll run by Architecture Scotland.

Images of the house can be seen on the `Best New Buildings’ website at www.bestbuildings.co.uk where visitors can also post their own star rating for the building.

'The response we have had to the design and finished building has been fantastic and we continue to get positive comments about it, which is obviously very pleasing. We have had questions from other architects enquiring as to the roof form and construction, which is also gratifying' said Graeme Hutton.

'We set out with this design to make a new statement about how to build within our unique and beautiful Scottish landscape. I think the finished house very much succeeds in that aim, and it is encouraging to see such a positive response.'

The house is also recently featured in the online version of the prestigious international publication ‘Wallpaper’, where it can be viewed as an interactive 'floorplan' and photographs at www.wallpaper.com/architecture/interactive-floor-plan-drummond-house-perthshire/3574.

It is one of only a very few projects selected from the UK for inclusion.

Drummond House is inspired by the agricultural buildings in the area and Graeme decribes it as 'a contemporary and playful re-interpretation of a rural barn, configured as a very sophisticated contemporary dwelling.'

House owner Peter Drummond used the energy-efficient plans for the self-build property, which was designed to fit in with the surrounding landscape. The house is linked to the adjoining garage yet each has a separate roof form, and the interior is simple, open and full of light. The materials palette for the building, like its form, is a careful response to its setting.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
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University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
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E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk