Skordoya is located on the outskirts of Lerwick and benefits from fantastic, uninterrupted views southwards along the beaches and coastline of Shetland. Careful design, and orientation of the house gave the clients the benefit of living in the town but the feeling of space, and connection with the landscape usually only found in rural locations.

The brief was to provide a modern, energy efficient house that could exploit these views whilst retaining some degree of privacy. The clients needed a 4 bedroom family home that could accommodate large family groups yet still feel cosy for only 2 people. Furthermore, with a view to the future, all of the essential accommodation was accessible on the ground floor. The result was a large house, with a very large footprint. It was however important to the Client that the building did not appear oversized but was reminiscent of a traditional Shetland croft house that nestled into the landscape.

The solution was to look back to the cluster of buildings that made up the original croft and to create a modern interpretation by dividing the new house into three distinct buildings, the ‘house’ and the 2 ‘byres’, linking them together with a glazed entrance area which doubles as sun space and extra lounge.