DUALCHAS ARCHITECTS CLADS ISLE OF SKYE RESIDENCE IN DARK WOOD

Somber home blends perfectly into the island wilderness

Balancing on the edge of civilization, the Isle of Skye is a veritable natural paradise that remains largely untouched. Wide expanses of windswept grass give way to dizzying cliffs and battering waves uninterrupted by human intervention. In such a brilliantly unrefined environment, it seems only natural that Dualchas Architects would create a simple, low-key home that defers to its surroundings.

Designed for a family of five, the home was inspired by a plain black shed located on the adjacent farm. The home is divided into two structures that imitate local agrarian buildings. The bedrooms sit in a separate volume behind the principal living space. Between the two buildings is a small, protected courtyard.

The home is clad in black-stained Siberian larch, while the aluminum roof is also finished in a black surface coating. The roof ends flush with the walls thanks to galvanized steel gutters and downpipes, creating a continuous surface that disappears into the cliff’s dark silhouette. As such, rather than competing with the environment, the buildings meld into the background and are the shadowy echo of the neighboring white farmhouse.