Artfarm | Braemar, Scotland, 2017 - ongoing

Designed to address ancillary requirements of the adjacent Fife Arms Hotel, the scheme provides 15 staff beds, workshops and stores within a tightly constrained site. The massing is split into 4 distinct but related parts to reduce the impact on the surrounding residential properties while allowing the design to follow the contours of the land. Larch rainscreen cladding used creatively in different panel widths and directions makes reference to materials found in the village and wider locality, with extensively planted, traditional slate and profiled metal roofs defining the separate parts at high level.

Requiring detailed negotiation with the Planning Authority during the design stages consent was secured for a high-density scheme that occupied the entire site while balancing the Client’s briefing requirements with a sensitive physical and civic context.

Quality communal living spaces and a high specification were developed within a tight budget to provide staff with a friendly and settled domestic environment. The scheme incorporates rainwater collection, a Ground Source Heat Pump and high levels of insulation to achieve a sustainable, low energy and low carbon building.