Inspired by the ancient Iron Age Scottish settlements, the four semi-buried 2 bedroom dwellings boast a unique scheme that will be almost invisible from street level. Due to the historic nature of the site and setting of the existing listed building, this site was extremely challenging in terms of planning, however the concept of the underground houses was successful.
This is essentially a landscape project – the only evidence of the four two-bedroom houses from the surface is an open soft-landscaped central courtyard sunken into the ground which introduces natural light. Hidden below a grass meadow roof covering the structure the houses sensitively merge into the existing landscape, the narrow entrance plays on the senses and creates mystery and intrigue before opening up into the central courtyard. This space has been carefully designed in terms of planting and hard-scaping. A central tree breaks the view and is surrounded by raised planters which would include natural grasses.