Homegrown timber a perfect fit for R-Affordable House build
BSW’s collection of homegrown, machined timber products has been used to complete a remarkable and affordable housing project located in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.
An array of products from BSW Timber’s construction timber range were utilised as part of a partnership between the sawmiller and award-winning architectural firm Roderick James Architects.
Working alongside local housing associations and charities, BSW provided homegrown timber materials such as machined carcassing and Douglas fir posts that were required to construct the R-Affordable House. The innovative abode now stands completed on the shores of Lochaline in the Highlands following a one-year build.
Roderick James, owner of Roderick James Architects, said: “The affordable houses we have built with BSW have been a great success from a constructional viewpoint.”
The R-Affordable House project brought together numerous partners to create a contemporary design, using socially responsible and high-performance construction timbers to deliver a creative new blueprint for affordable, economical housing.
The site, Plot 16 at Achabeag, which is now a completed affordable family home, was designed to use as much wood as possible – and it includes boarded walls which also offer economic benefits as they allow for the use of relatively unskilled builders during their construction.
The house, which overlooks the beautiful Lochaline, evokes an astonishing feeling of light, space and texture and has received plaudits from both visitors and competition judges alike.
The build was shortlisted in two categories at the Structural Timber Awards and in one category at the TTJ Awards, both in 2019.
The R-Affordable House project followed the SchoolHouse project, which took place at Burlington Danes Academy in London and was another joint venture between RJA and BSW.
BSW supplies a wide range of general carcassing timbers suitable for a vast array of applications.