February 26 2024

Proposals for a new home at Nether Bellyclone Farm, a cluster of traditional stone and lime buildings near Crieff, have been submitted by Baillie Baillie Architects.

Acting on behalf of Judy Wellfare and Jeremy Hollister, founders of design and research studio If Then Futures, the brief is to deliver a sustainable residence and separate guest annexe styled as a house and 'barn' to gel with the rural location.

Adopting a 'long house' form with gables clad in salvaged rubble with expressed chimney stacks framing the entrance to the courtyard.

In a planning statement, the architects wrote: "The proposed dwelling adopts a simple long house form, with eaves set at single storey height. Placed at 90 degrees to the house, the ancillary building is positioned to create an informal courtyard, drawing on traditional agricultural development patterns."

Striving toward negative embodied carbon by supporting loads on a suspended timber floor resting on posts sitting on pad foundations the buildings will sit at a right angle, facing a sunken courtyard garden that frames established farm buildings.

The statement continued: "Both structures have a softer edge to the slightly sunken courtyard level to the south. These elevations will be largely concealed from wider views within the landscape, creating a sense of privacy and shelter.

"The entrance to the dwelling is defined by a covered external portico with timber columns, which takes cues from the hay barns within the Nether Bellyclone group of buildings."

Hugging the land the build will employ compressed straw panel walls and wood fibre roof insulation with an exterior dressed in timber shingles, reclaimed stone and slate.

2 Comments

#1 Posted by Mr. Brown on 27 Feb 2024 at 12:08 PM

mmm, beige

#2 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 28 Feb 2024 at 10:33 AM

Yes, the current desire to be as inoffensive as possible results in bleached-out desaturated visuals (and, some may argue, watery vanilla designs).

Far removed from the harsh rain-drenched wheelie-bin and three cars reality.

There's not a lot of architectural boldness around at the moment, is there?

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