• Location: Loch Lomond
• Time: 2019
• Architect: Line Architecture
• Type of Wood: Scotlarch® Cladding factory coated with SiOO:X
• Time elapsed: 2020
• Photo: Ross Campbell Photography

This former upland sheep farm stretches to over 1000 acres and contains some of the finest stalking terrain in Scotland. The client wanted to create a compact sporting estate with a hunting lodge as its focus. Balancing the desire for panoramic views with the need to create minimal visual impact led to a long and detailed planning process that resulted in the creation of a highly bespoke building that combines vehicle storage, estate management and luxury residential accommodation for visiting stalkers.

Perched on a steep mountaintop in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, Monachyle Beag hunting lodge proves that a challenging site doesn’t have to mean a compromised design. The project was fraught with planning complexities, the site difficult to access and the construction hampered by a wet spring and heavy snow. Despite this, the architect has delivered a design that is sensitive to its setting, yet celebrates the tranquility, panoramic mountain views and beautiful textures of the natural landscape.

The design form is a nod to agricultural buildings, helping the lodge to integrate into the wider landscape. An outer layer with an exposed galvanised frame provides the visual effect of a barn, whilst tucked underneath is a ‘building within a building’ featuring large areas of glazing that is unobtrusive to its surroundings.

The cladding design was a key in achieving this with SiOO:X coated Scottish larch providing a natural, durable finish with uniform weathering, and the inner ‘skin’ of Siberian larch timber painted in a flat grey colour to lessen the visual impact. The materiality of the project with its timber construction sedum roof details was key to its visual integration into the landscape. The timber and treatment supplier interacted with the architect assisting in varying the specification until it was balanced to achieve the design objectives.

SiOO:X benefits:

• High resilience in harsh mountain environment
• Natural weathered grey finish a key to building integration into
  the landscape