REAL PROJECT CONTEMPORARY SELF-BUILD
This striking self-build in South Lanarkshire is an idyllic home and a fitting tribute to its talented creator
HOMEOWNERS Gordon and Helen Smith
LOCATION Strathaven, South Lanarkshire
ARCHITECT Gordon Smith
HOUSE TYPE Contemporary detached suburban house
BUILD ROUTE Architect/owner project managed
CONSTRUCTION Concrete retaining wall to lower ground level. Prefabricated panelised timber frame to the upper level living area and courtyard
BUILD TIME 10 months BUILD COST £320,000
Bridge House, a bespoke family home on a tricky suburban site in the Lanarkshire town of Strathaven, was a labour of love for retired architect Gordon Smith. Since its completion in summer 2019, it’s now an important legacy and highly personal home for his wife Helen.
Gordon and Helen, who had lived in the historic market town of Strathaven for the past 35 years in a four-bedroom Victorian sandstone semi-detached villa, were looking to downsize in their retirement. Architect Gordon had long held a hankering to design and build a house for Helen and himself, and that chance finally came along when the couple spotted a perfect – and rarely available – plot for sale nearby in the town. However, there was a major sticking point. The gap site, formerly a back garden between two villas, was bordered by a burn waterway and a strip of land between the road and burn that was not part of the advertised plot. In order to have access to build on the site, this strip of land would have to be unlocked. In the event, Gordon came to an amicable agreement with the owner of the access site. “We knew the owners, whose house borders the site, and they were reassured when Gordon discussed his plans with them. On this basis of now having road access, we decided to go ahead,” says Helen.
A SUSTAINABLE VISION
The plot, even when it was unlocked, was not the most straightforward proposition. It was a difficult steeply sloping site, with the burn between the road and house that had to be bridged — hence the name Bridge House. Gordon saw these various site conditions as an ideal opportunity to experiment with the design.
Taking inspiration from the ideas of Modernist architects Aalto, Utzon, Breuer, and John Pardey’s one-off houses, Gordon’s main design idea was to create a ‘courtyard’ house that was part of the grain of the town, and that would be as simple as possible — materials are mainly brick, timber, and glass. Gordon was also keen that the house should be as sustainable and low energy as possible.
