A minimalist sanctuary on North Uist, Scotland

No.9 is a beautiful two-bedroom, larch-clad, Scandi-style escape on the wild Scottish Hebridean island of North Uist.

Invited into the project in its early days, I was presented with a beautiful plot of land in North Uist by my client to guide the visual story this physical space would grow into.

The creative direction process began with immersion in the landscape itself. The untouched surroundings of the Outer Hebrides offer an expansive landscape of inspiration — rain clouds approach across the roaring seas, the call of gulls fills the air, the wild wind rocks us back on our heels… and still the sand is a warm gold and the sea a shimmering turquoise. Life takes on a slower pace here.

No.9 evolved into a carefully considered, modern take on a traditional Scottish longhouse, with a minimalist Scandi aesthetic softened by natural tones and textures.

The deeply elemental setting of this hosted home called for a creative approach that would atmospherically weave together the tangible and intangible elements of experiencing this hideaway, honouring the raw beauty of island life and the refined architectural intervention No.9 has created within it.

The creative direction for No.9 evolved beautifully from the theme of sanctuary, captured in D.H. Lawrence’s words about wandering “from the world’s somewheres, into our own nowhere.”

We all need an experience slightly out of the ordinary, once in a while, to provoke the imagination and inspire the mind. This concept of escape, of finding one’s personal nowhere, resonated deeply and informed the duality of No.9 as a place of true retreat among nature, whilst also being a place to feel at home within.