Falkirk's dream home Coach House wins top design award

The silver plaque honour is a feather in the cap for Falkirk architect thatstudio Chartered Architects Ltd - who won praise for their imaginative and sensitive design.

The three-bedroom Coach House was created from disused stables - and and an actual former coach house - using innovative design elements to preserve the character of the original buildings.

But at the same time distinctly modern elements have been incorporated to create an energy-efficient, comfortable home.

The award judges said of the design: “It has a sense of spaciousness that belies its compact footprint.

“Beautifully designed and constructed, this is an exceptional contribution to Falkirk’s built environment”.

The Coach House was presented with a 2018 Saltire Society Housing Design Award this week by broadcaster Allan Little and local government and housing minister Kevin Stewart at a special ceremony in Edinburgh.

The project was described as “a home modest in size but with great ambition” and as “an exemplar as how to build appropriately in the grounds of substantial Victorian villas”.

The judges added: “Two sliding window walls open out to the courtyard and completely convinces in its intention to blur boundaries between inside and outside”.

Allan Little said of the Coach House and other field-leading projects: “These are houses that above all look to the future, but at the same time respect the historical and aesthetic context in which they are built.

“We have seen a great diversity - innovative, creative, and inspiring”.