If you’re a Grand Designs fan, you’ll know the way things usually go: a perky couple decides that the only way to live in their dream home is to DIY it, despite having no experience in architecture, construction or anything else to do with housebuilding. By the end of the episode the build is over budget and incomplete, they’re contemplating divorce and Kevin McLeod is trying not to say I told you so.
That might be the typical arc, but things were different from the outset for Caochan na Creige, or ‘little quiet one by the rock’ in English. For starters, the intrepid couple who built it are seasoned architects, not hopeful first-timers. Second, it’s not technically actually a ‘Grand Design’ – it wasn’t built on the show. Instead, the one-bed Scottish home appeared on the annual spinoff competition Grand Designs: House of the Year.
Six impressive builds were nominated for the title of House of the Year 2025, but it was Caochan na Creige that impressed judges at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) most. It’s not hard to see why.
Set against the Hebridean wilds of the Isle of Harris, designers Jack Arundell and Eilidh Izat wanted the house to seamlessly blend in with its surroundings. They used stone from the land and built jagged edges into the floorplan. They created a house that was hardy enough to withstand the stormy weather, but light enough that it was pleasant to live in.
Judges said that their decision to crown Caochan na Creige as the winner was unanimous. ‘It addressed every issue,’ explained jury chair David Kohn, ‘challenging climatic conditions, the relationship to vernacular architecture, and a tight budget, with a rare mixture of sensitivity and boldness’. The entire house was built for only £167,000.
During its construction, highland storms tore away temporary roofs and delayed works multiple times. Challenges were only made harder by the fact that everything was handmade by Arundell and Alasdair Izat – Eilidh’s brother – so there wasn’t a very big team to help out when things went wrong.
That grit and determination is part of what won it this award, with judges describing the entire project as ‘an amazing achievement against lots of odds’.
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