Smithy Brae

Designed by ata Studio (2007-09) as a coherent composition of two deceptively simple, diagonally-ridged cubes, their bold roof slopes copper-sheathed. While the dominance of solid over void seems to convey an echo of whitewalled Scottish vernacular, the geometrical interplay of wall and roof planes elevates abstract form above stylistic allusion. The architecture is modest and yet at the same time challenging, intended to ask questions of conventional residential aspirations. In a village context perhaps too often preoccupied with the conservative constraints of respectable conservation, these houses have been designed with a confident élan which won them a Saltire Society commendation.