A TINY home built by hand on a remote Scots island has been crowned Grand Designs House of the Year.
Caochan na Creige, on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, was dreamt up by architects Eilidh and Jack Arundell and built with ancient local stone from a nearby quarry for just £167,000.
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Caochan na Creige was named the Grand Designs House of the Year 2025Credit: Channel 4
The 85-square-meter home packs in a open plan kitchen and living space, a bedroom, bathroom, utility room and officeCredit: Channel 4
Architects Eilidh and Jack ArundellCredit: Channel 4
The pair, who run architectural firm Izat Arundell, ditched pricey contractors and did it themselves, with Eilidh’s brother and furniture maker Alasdair Izat helping with the build.
The modest one-bedroom home, perched on a rocky outcrop with views over Skye, beat multi-million-pound rivals thanks to its innovative and budget-conscious design.
At 85 square metres, it packs in an open-plan kitchen-living space, office, bedroom, bathroom and utility room and features a grass roof.
Caochan na Creige, which means “little quiet one by the rock” in Gaelic, scooped the Royal Institute of British Architects’ House of the Year in the final of Channel 4’s four-part Grand Designs series on Wednesday night.
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Judges hailed its “luxurious connection to the surrounding landscape”.
Eilidh, 36, said: “The reason the house seems so settled in the landscape is because we have built it from the same stone that comes from the ground.
“If you were to zoom out and look at the rock formations, the angles of the house replicate that.
“Having a small house makes you live consciously. In terms of sustainability we wanted to build a house that would last at least 100 years and I think that could be a really good lesson to take away from our modest house.
“We’ve given it our best shot and we’ve ended up getting House of the Year.”
Jack, 34, added: “It shows people what is possible. The strength of the design shows people it can be a little rough around the edges but still strong and a great piece of architecture.”
In awarding the prize the RIBA judges noted: “To do a project like this in such a remote location on that budget (£167,000) required a partnership that is really admirable.
“What an amazing achievement against lots of odds.”