Glencanisp Housing Sutherland, Scottish Building, Homes Design, Property Images

Glencanisp Housing, Sutherland

New Residential Development in northwest Scotland by Rural Design, UK

post updated 14 July 2025

Architects: Rural Design ltd, Isle of Skye

Housing in Sutherland

24 Feb 2010

New Housing at Glencanisp, Sutherland

Proposals for new housing on the edge of the Sutherland village of Lochinver in the Scottish Highlands have been revealed, following the completion of initial designs by Skye-based Rural Design.

images from architects

Since the community buy out in 2005 the Assynt Foundation has been attempting to promote the provision of new housing for Lochinver. The village is currently landlocked and available sites for new affordable housing are very scarce.

The chosen site provided by the Assynt Foundation sits in the shadow of the iconic mountain of Suilven and presents considerable challenges. The landscape consists of three-billion-year old cnocan rock formations surrounded by deep peat beds and so there are few precedents for larger scale rural housing design.

Picking up on ideas first explored by MLTW at the Sea Ranch condominium in California, it is proposed that 30 houses are divided into four aggregated blocks. This approach minimises the environmental impact of the building footprint and infrastructure. Private internal space is contained between each paired block, minimising the overall visual impact.

The buildings will be timber-framed and timber-clad, with turf roofs. The terrace forms lend themselves to the communal heating system.

The project is now seeking funding from the Scottish Government and will shortly be submitted for planning approval.

images from architects

Rural Design Director Alan Dickson commented, “we hope this proves to be a ground breaking project, demonstrating that our beautiful landscape need not be degraded into suburbia, and that it is possible to achieve badly needed housing without destroying our heritage.”

Glencanisp Housing Sutherland images / information from Rural Design

rural design are architects studio based on the Isle of Skye.

Location: Glencanisp, Lochinver, Sutherland, north west Scotland, UK.