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 alternative small building, cleverly designed to meet the stringent criteria for BS 3632. These included the dimensions , and the need for it to be prefabricated and transported to site in not more than two sections . 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. Pyramid form ceilings add height to the space, each topped with a skylight, flooding 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, and framing the wonderful views . Inspired by the Galloway Dark Skies, the skylights that illuminate by day 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
Both Brockloch Bothy and Brockloch Treehouse , also designed and built by Echo, can be rented by visitors on Canopy & Stars
"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
