7 self-build houses made with stone
Take a look at these beautiful Grand Designs all using different varieties of stone in their construction.
Houses have been built out of stone for thousands of years, yet architects and builders are still finding new ways of working with it. Take a look at these striking stone houses.
Image: DLM Architects
The world’s oldest building material has been reinvented in the 21st century. Whatever the method, the results are multi-tonal and textural, which can help a home stand out or blend in with the landscape. This material doesn’t just look good, it is highly durable and its thermal mass can help to passively heat and cool an interior.
Take inspiration from hese self-build projects which demonstrate why it’s time to embrace the new stone age.
1. Flint
Image: Mclean Quinlan
Flint is certainly not the most common form of stone used in architecture but it offers a distinctive character. At Harbour House, a two-storey property in West Sussex, this crystalised form of quartz is used to create a decorative but durable cladding that is fitting for its seaside location.
Mclean Quinlan designed the 455 square metre house as three blocks. The flint-clad main house contains large, open family spaces on the ground floor and four en-suite bathrooms upstairs.Both brick and flint feature inside the building too, where they are used to mark the divides between the different wings.
2. Dry-stone technique
Image: bureau de change
A pair of old chicken sheds provided unlikely inspiration for this family home in the Cotswolds. Designed by bureau de change, the house comprises two adjoining barn-like structures. A dry-stone technique was used to provide a rugged but also formal rhythm to the exterior of the second block.
Skylights dot the roofs, ensuring that every room, including the four bedrooms, benefits from plenty of natural light.
3. Limestone pebbles
Image: Gottstein Architects
Designed by Gottstein Architects, this family home in County Kerry, Ireland, puts a new spin on rural vernacular. Limestone pebbles are inset into the rendered exterior walls, giving the house a dark tone and a tactility that belie its clean and bright interior.
The roofs are clad with slate, the traditional choice in the area, which matches the grey tones of the limestone.