Brown & Brown designs Cairngorms house blending raw minimalism and nature

Scottish architects Brown & Brown have crafted a raw and minimalist home within Scotland’s idyllic Cairngorms National Park; welcome to Spyon Cop, a new three-bedroom family house framing long, green views across the region's valleys and the nearby River Don. This peaceful natural context was key right from the start in the Aberdeenshire- and Inverness-based studio's design, led by practice co-founders Kate and Andrew Brown. 

Brown & Brown designs Spyon Cop

'From the outset, we wanted to design a building that sat delicately in the landscape and didn’t disrupt the horizon line. The result for Spyon Cop is a simple design, whereby everything springs from the same finish and is deliberately limited, allowing the views to take precedence,' Kate Brown explains. 'The challenge with building in these conditions is designing something that fits harmoniously with the rugged landscape. Spyon Cop marries the contemporary retreat our clients wanted, with a home that seems to have grown from the hillside.’

While Spyon Cop occupies the footprint of an old stone cottage which was demolished by the time the current owners bought their plot, the architects were keen for the new home to remain discreet and not compete with its verdant context. Creating a simple, low structure using the clean lines of a minimalist architecture approach felt like a no brainer for the team. A sod roof planted with grass tussocks cut from the hillside tops the structure, embedding it in its surroundings.

Inside, a refreshingly pared down and straightforward approach to the internal arrangement mirrors the exterior's simplicity. An open plan kitchen and living room sit at the heart of the design, flanked to the east by the main bedroom and ensuite; and to the west by a family bathroom, utility room, and two bedrooms. 

The materials feel tactile and the relatively restricted palette of concrete, wood (the exterior, for example, is black-painted larch) and microcement places the emphasis on the vistas - which wrap the living experience through large openings across all sides of the house. Meanwhile Brown & Brown's use of low carbon principles for the project means that the house both breathes and displays efficient thermal retention – adding sustainable architecture to its list of credentials. 

'Being perched on the hilltop at Spyon Cop is like nothing else; my favourite experience of the house is sitting in my Ercol chair or – in nice weather – out on the deck, coffee in hand, watching the sun rise over the valley,' says the client, Siobhan Turner. 'We were very conscious when building that this was to be our holiday home, and were determined not to take housing stock out of the local area. Working with a local architecture firm, with local builders and as far as possible local suppliers and craftspeople, we have been able to realise our dream, to build a house that makes the best use of the land and views, and does so gently, and quietly, offering a place we are at peace in.’

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