Mannal House – Drawing
Title
Mannal House – Drawing
Website
Designed by
Denizen Works
Project Description
Project Description provided by Denizen Works - Mannal House is a new 4-bedroom family home on the Isle of Tiree on the west
coast of Scotland that sits high above the sea looking east towards the mainland
over Mull. The site is on the working yard of the main house of the township of
Mannal where the previous owner sold the dwelling and our site as two separate
lots. The site is therefore peppered with various farm buildings, ruins and a byre in
which our new house sits.
These agricultural relics drove the formal organisation of the house and in particular
the ruins of the gabled byre. The resultant house, split into two wings, nestles into
the rebuilt stone walls which drive the main architectural expression of the building.
Essentially a house of two gables, on approach, you enter through the stone gable
into a courtyard garden from where you are presented with a framed view of Hynish
and a row of lighthouse cottages designed by Alan Stevenson.
From this courtyard you move through the house to the climax of the procession
where you are faced with the negative of the stone gable in three fixed panels of
glass. To create this expression, we copied the volume of the byre, slid it out beyond
the old boundary wall and lifted it up to create the negative gable form bringing
you close to the sea creating a feeling like being on the prow of a ferry. This main
volume, almost religious in scale, contains a kitchen and utility space, dining table
and the main sitting room. Overhead is the master suite with ensuite bathroom,
dressing room and study.
Sitting at right angles to this main wing is the bedroom wing that contains three
bedrooms and two bathrooms with views east drinking in the morning sun and
views out to sea. The ceilings of these spaces are subtly curved creating a contrast
between the low-pitched roof outside.
Constructed from a bespoke timber SIPs kit, the house is highly insulated with
heating provided through an air source heat pump. Externally, the house is clad from
the materials and forms of Tiree; stone walls, timber cladding, pebbledash render
and bitumen in both sheet and corrugated forms.
