Solar-powered modern home rises within stone ruins

Another day, another lovely Scottish ruin transformed through the power of architecture. Designed by Nathanael Dorent Architecture, in collaboration with Lily Jencks Studio and Nous Engineering, this modern home in Dumfries, Scotland is an artful integration of the old and new.

Named Ruin Studio, the home first took its cues from the crumbling stone walls of an original 18th-century farmhouse on the site. Dorent and Jencks stabilized the stone and used its outline to determine the footprint of the new structure. This modern form has a simple pitched roof much like the original farmhouse, but is covered in an unmistakably contemporary matte black EPDM rubber.

The interior counterbalances the dark, orthogonal exterior with curving all-white walls formed out of recycled polystyrene blocks covered in glass-reinforced plastic. These interior “tubes” create shared spaces connecting the bedrooms and the kitchen, study, living room, and dining area.

Even the old stone walls occasionally break through the other two layers, adding a dash of history to the futuristic interior. Eight large skylights bring natural light into the home, as do many windows placed between or above segments of the stone wall. The home is fully insulated and built to passive house standards, and generates power from solar panels.

Via: Inhabitat