OFF GRID PYRAMID BOTHY
Brockloch Bothy
The original off-grid, modular Pyramid Cabin was designed and built by Echo for Brockloch Farm and featured in the very first series of Channel 4s 'Amazing Spaces'. Echo won a Scottish Edge Award for the innovative modular concept.
Brockloch Farm was granted planning permission to site caravans for rental on its land and the Bothy was the prototype for Echo's small buildings, cleverly designed to meet the stringent criteria for BS 3632. These included the dimensions and fit out, and the need for it to be prefabricated and transported to site in two sections and finally bolted together. It sits on adjustable galvanised pillar bases anchored to small concrete pad foundations, touching the ground lightly, and is removable from the site.
Although modular in construction, the building is cleverly modelled internally to create a combination of open planned space and individual rooms. Inverted pyramid ceilings add height to the space, and each of their skylights floods the interior with daylight. Pale timber lined walls have panels of soft colour that articulate the spaces and work with the timber panels’ modular characteristics.
As in all Echo’s buildings, the position of the Bothy's windows has been carefully considered, with large, south-facing, sliding doors to maximise the daylight and solar gain, framing the wonderful views from the site. Skylights illuminate each inverted pyramid ceiling by day and, inspired by the Galloway Dark Skies, create the opportunity for stargazing by night.
The Bothy is off grid, with 12v light and power provided by solar panels incorporated into the roof design. The building can be used comfortably year round due to solar gain, an efficient wood burner, and the thick layers of insulation. The alternating square panels of horizontal and vertical larch cladding accentuate the building's modular characteristics and provide a decorative exterior finish with minimum waste. Other interior details and window profiles underline the Bothy's minimal aesthetic.
Location : Brockloch Farm, Galloway, Scotland
Client : Brockloch Eco Retreats
Year: 2013
Internal area: 27m2
Photos : Ewan Adamson , Alisdair McIntosh
Status : Built
Brockloch Bothy is rented to visitors. Further details can be found at http://www.brockloch.co.uk/brockloch-bothy.php
"Our first words when we arrived were 'wow!' and that was the feeling throughout. The bothy itself is well equipped, well designed and beautifully and comfortably decorated. The finishes and furnishings are beautiful...The view from the huge wall of windows is spectacular at any time of day and in any weather. The bothy is very well insulated as even when it was pretty cold and windy outside the inside retained the heat superbly... "
visitor's review at canopyandstars.co.uk, 25/8/15
