Wilson Paul Award-Winning Chartered Architects In Dundee
Project / The Birdhide. Bespoke new-build dwelling designed around a comprehensive integration with local wildlife.
Client / Private Client
Description
The Birdhide is a bespoke home shaped by a simple ambition: to bring everyday life closer to nature while making space for wildlife. Overlooking a wooded watercourse, the design combines a private retreat with opportunities to observe the changing landscape from within the home.
The site’s ecological role is central to our approach. Positioning the building along the street edge allows an open route through the landscape, intended to support wildlife movement alongside the water. The proposals retain all mature trees, with the accommodation and window positions carefully arranged around the existing tree cover.
Two distinct elevations respond to the different demands of the setting. Facing the street, natural stone, a low roofline and carefully placed openings create a quiet, private frontage that references the nearby old water mill. The building’s modest scale and alignment establish a considered relationship with its neighbours.
Towards the water, the house opens into a contemporary interpretation of a birdhide. Vertical timber screens alternate with generous glazing, framing views through the trees and across the planted banks. Deeply recessed openings provide sheltered outlooks, while an outdoor viewing platform offers a place to pause and watch the wildlife.
Inside, the arrangement brings daylight and landscape into everyday living spaces. Views are composed to balance openness with privacy, creating places to gather alongside quieter corners for observation and reflection. Natural stone and timber connect the architecture to its surroundings, giving the home a restrained, tactile character.
The Birdhide reflects our approach to sensitive sites: understanding their particular challenges and using them to shape distinctive homes. Here, the ambition for an eco-home begins with the relationship between the building, its occupants and the wider habitat.
