Building in the countryside presents problems enough; building on a remote Scottish island multiplies them. But Tiree has form for award-winning architecture. A ferry shelter-cum-art installation was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2003. Then, in 2014, Murray Kerr of Denizen Works rebuilt one of the tumbledown black Hebridean houses for his parents and won the Stephen Lawrence Prize. The three volumes of the house are linked by a glazed-roofed atrium, but they are separately expressed: the original house a black pitch-roofed, white-rendered stone building, the two new elements have corrugated agricultural cladding that look the part. Yet inside all is cosy warmth provided by an air-source heat pump. Collectively they are corralled like farm animals hunched together against the weather. Marco Goldschmied described it as ‘an intelligent and witty response to the function and logistical challenges of location, orientation and isolation.’ He was right. Photo 10 of 11 in 10 Wildly Innovative U.K. Homes of the 20th Century That Outshine the Rest

10 Wildly Innovative U.K. Homes of the 20th Century That Outshine the Rest

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Building in the countryside presents problems enough; building on a remote Scottish island multiplies them. But Tiree is known for award-winning architecture. A ferry shelter-cum-art installation was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2003. Then, in 2014, Murray Kerr of Denizen Works rebuilt one of the tumbledown black Hebridean houses for his parents and won the Stephen Lawrence Prize. The three volumes of the house are linked by a glazed-roofed atrium, but they are separately expressed: The original house is a black pitch-roofed, white-rendered stone building, while the two new elements have corrugated agricultural cladding that look the part. Yet inside all is cozy warmth provided by an air-source heat pump. Collectively they are corralled like farm animals hunched together against the weather. Marco Goldschmied described it as "an intelligent and witty response to the function and logistical challenges of location, orientation and isolation."