Island Home

The Split House was designed to be built in the rural Hebrides. Building affordable housing in this case can be difficult due to the high cost of transporting materials and labour. The small developments required generate few economies of scale restricting the viability of projects. Household incomes are also low and often unpredictable limiting the borrowing available for example to islands. The Split House aims to tackle these issues by developing an affordable house that is:

• easy to build – to facilitate self-build, and fast assembly to minimise the travel and subsistence costs associated with island construction;
• easy/cheap to heat – to help overcome fuel poverty which is more common in the Hebrides than any other part of Scotland; low incomes, poor housing and expensive heating options all contribute.
• generates economies of scale – through an adaptable design which will use standardised components

Utilising a simple, regular shape, the Split House has been developed on a 10x9m grid with a basic 1m-module size, reorganized to create an expressive, articulated and adaptable house. The basic grid has been modified to form three distinct volumes:

• Service – A central service and circulation space is pulled through the grid and the principle entrance is defined. This space contains the functional elements of entrance, circulation, bathroom and storage.
• Living – The largest volume hosts the living room with kitchen and dining area and is internally articulated with a storage wall that contains a central fireplace.
• Sleeping – The remaining volume is the sleeping area, consisting of 2 bedrooms [or 1 double and two single], for 4 people.

Further adaptations of the grid provide a sheltered terrace from the main living area and allow a sheltered entrance porch.