Letham Mains, West Haddington Home, East Lothian Property Images, Building, Architect Project

Letham Mains House, Haddington

East Lothian house design by Smith Scott Mullan Architects, South Eastern Scotland

Project Title: Letham Mains

Design: Smith Scott Mullan Architects

Location: Haddington, East Lothian

Client: Steven Hutchison & Doreen Lloyd

Programme: Completed 2006

Letham Mains Property

Letham Mains Photographs: Michael Wolchover

Letham Mains sits in the East Lothian countryside, a flat landscape of fields and long views towards the Firth of Forth. The project centred around an existing small house and a garage which the Client wanted to develop as a family home by adding living accommodation as well as refurbishing the house. The Client also wanted to create a contrasting type of space to the original building and take advantage of the spectacular views and quality of light offered by the site.

The concept was structured around the use of a long rendered wall which would join the existing house with the garage, while providing a clear definition between the public entry side and the private garden side. Further, this wall emphasized the flatness of the landscape and provided a base for the key feature of the house, a small glazed tower or “nest”, which defines the architectural language of the extension whilst providing both views and surveillance from an interesting position.

The materials were kept deliberately simple and appropriate to their situation with white render, zinc and timber being the formation of the architectural palette. The interior has a wood burning stove as a central focus, which not only heats the room but also provides a visual focus for the house and integrates the room with the “nest”.

The building was built as a combination of the efforts of a small contractor and the Client. The final result is a highly economic but distinctive family home which responds to its landscape context.

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