An architect from Kinlocheil has won the Best Building in Scotland award for her ‘building within a ruin’.
Cuddymoss in north Ayrshire, designed by Ann Nisbet Studio, has been named today as the winner of the Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). Cuddymoss is the first one-off house to win the RIAS Doolan Award since its inception in 2002.
Ann Nisbet grew up in Kinlocheil, outside Fort William. Her father – now retired – worked at the Aluminium Smelter and her mother runs the Kinlocheil Post Office. Ann attended Lochyside Primary School and graduated from Lochaber High School in 1996.
This is the third time in 10 years that Ann Nisbet has been shortlisted for the prestigious Doolan Award. The practice is based in Glasgow but works throughout rural Scotland with several current projects around Lochaber and Oban.
Ann said: “We are delighted to have won the Doolan Award for Best Building in Scotland. We knew that Cuddymoss had the potential to be a special project from the very initial conversation with the client, where it became clear that he saw himself as the custodian of the ruin, rather than just the owner.
“This echoed with our own ethos and led to a strategy of retaining the ruin, making use of available materials and incorporating ideas around a circular economy. All of which seems very timely in a climate emergency. It’s great to see this project rewarded and for a small practice to achieve this, feels fantastic.”
The Doolan Award judges praised how the simplicity of the building concept has been realised with clarity, care and playfulness by Ann Nisbet Studio, and were impressed by the project’s deep respect for the lifespan of the ruin – from its history to possible future uses.
The intervention within the ruin sits back from the existing stone structure, creating deep reveals in the original openings, and making it difficult to discern on arrival that anything but the ruin is actually there.
Designed in collaboration with the homeowner – a passionate birdwatcher and wildlife enthusiast – the practice’s approach welcomes a close connection with nature, with an old window ledge in the ruin being left untouched, to invite owls in to roost at night.
Inside, windows have been carefully positioned in such a way that the Ayrshire landscape feels as if it is entering the building. A new extension also sits alongside the ruin – matching its form and clad in silver-toned timber cladding so as to almost dissolve visually into the landscape.
Cuddymoss overcame competition from three other shortlisted projects: Campus Central at the University of Stirling by PagePark Architects, Hundred Acre Wood near Dalmally in Argyll and Bute by Denizen Works, and the Laidlaw Music Centre at the University of St Andrews by Flanagan Lawrence.
The architects of the winning building receive a £10,000 cash prize, making the Doolan Award one of the most significant architecture awards in the world.
RIAS President Chris Stewart said: “Much of Scotland’s best architecture can be seen in one-off homes, and it was therefore long overdue for a newly designed house to be named winner of the RIAS Doolan Award.
“Cuddymoss is an outstanding winner – combining Ann Nisbet Studio’s clear concept and design rigour with the client’s deep sense of responsibility to the building and its surrounding landscape. The result is a beautiful building that works extremely well as a home, and is deeply respectful of the original building’s character, heritage, and setting.”