Origami House | Loader Monteith

The Origami House features a new rear extension to a family home in the Buchlyvie Conservation Area of Stirlingshire. The ground floor plan of the existing cottage was composed of small, dark rooms which closed the house off from the expansive rear garden. The clients asked Loader Monteith to upgrade the home and bring the outside in.

Loader Monteith was briefed to design a large ground floor extension to allow for plenty of natural light, a new dining space, study area, shower room and kitchen. The clients also specified the need for a new heating system and updated glazing throughout. In assessing the existing cottage and surrounding village context the architects explained that clever spatial planning would allow for a much smaller extension, which would still offer the clients excellent functionality and a closer connection to the garden beyond, but allow them to reinvest their initial budget into quality materials and finishes.

Loader Monteith placed the new kitchen at the heart of the plan which unlocked several opportunities within the constrained footprint of the 1980’s cottage. The galley-style kitchen connects the existing sitting room at the front of the home to the new dining space at the rear, allowing the family constant connection in separate yet connected zones of the ground floor.

A large wrap around window seat of Douglas fir characterises the rear extension, placing the clients directly into the garden. Overhead, a new glazed aperture maximises light flowing into the kitchen, ensuring the centre of the plan remains light and airy. The exposed timber structure overhead adds to the sense of space throughout, further enhanced by a palette of neutral, natural materials including soft white walls and a light microcement floor.

Loader Monteith designed a quiet study nook where the children can complete their homework while still having a visual connection to their parents in the kitchen through exposed Douglas fir shelving, now home to the clients’ collection of turned wood sculptures.

The clients can now strip muddy boots and coats off in the new side entrance which leads into the utility and shower room, before opening into the ultra-matte formica kitchen, custom built by Archispek.

Before purchasing the house, the clients inquired at the local council as to whether development of the cottage would be permitted, being located in a sensitive conservation area.

In line with the planning offices’ response and the strict planning rules of the Buchlyvie Conservation area, Loader Monteith "folded" the extension's pitched roof to adhere to language of other buildings in the village, reducing the visual bulk of the addition while still adding a generous volume to the interior. The architects specified external timber batten cladding to soften the form of the house within its verdant garden setting.

Iain King, Director at Loader Monteith says:

“Building is a pretty destructive, not to mention expensive, process, which is why we tend to encourage people not to do it unless they have to. We like to get the area that you already have working as hard as it possibly can. The less you can get away with building, the better.”

Hugh and Karen Pizey, clients say:

“The thing that sold us this house was the size of the garden. We liked the location and the garden but the house itself needed quite a lot of work, something we knew might be tricky as it’s in a conservation area.

“Before we bought it, we got in touch with the local planning department who advised us that it would be possible to renovate, but that we’d need to be careful around the height of any extensions.”

“The cottage was in good repair but there were several issues, including an old coal fire heating system. The heating didn’t come on unless the fire had been on for an hour or two, and the windows and doors had large gaps, so large that you could see outside around some of the frames.

“We briefed Loader Monteith to reconnect the house to light and the greenery outside from our living space. We wanted a new heating system and sealed windows, with a more modern but still natural feeling kitchen. We also needed to update the downstairs shower room and make space for entering with muddy boots.”

“We love watching the birds from the dining table, this is a really nice space to overlook the first part of the garden, watch the cats, and hear the children playing outside.”

Lead Architect: Iain King

Photography: Dapple Photography

Website: www.dapplephotography.co.uk

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