In December 2025, the stone villa Caochan na Creige, designed by Izat Arundell studio, was selected as the best example of sustainable villa design in Britain and unanimously won the prestigious RIBA House of the Year award. This project, a single-story flat sustainable villa with a fully indigenous and low-consumption approach, is built in the remote Outer Hebrides islands of Scotland on rocky terrain exposed to strong Atlantic Ocean winds, serving as an unparalleled model for sustainable residential building design in harsh climatic conditions.
The architects of the project were themselves the designers, builders, and owners, executing this villa entirely as a self-build. In the sustainable villa design of Caochan na Creige, the entire plan is shaped around a large natural rock formation to shelter from prevailing winds, using 100% local materials (Lewisian gneiss stone and Scottish cedar wood) with no high-consumption imported materials involved. This approach has placed the project in the category of sustainable building design with the lowest carbon footprint, making it a top-tier source of inspiration for those seeking sustainable flat villa design or even sustainable duplex villa design and sustainable triplex villa design based on the same principles.
The exterior is entirely stone-clad, while the interior is fully finished in wood, with large strategic windows maximizing natural light and ventilation. The house’s interior design features minimal walls and a maximum connection to nature, while in its simplicity, it fully meets the needs of modern living. This combination of stone and wood, alongside the natural landscape design that seamlessly integrates the house with the site, is exactly what has become highly popular today in sustainable villa design and sustainable residential building design in Iran.
The RIBA jury emphasized that Caochan na Creige was built on a very limited budget, yet its thermal performance, material durability, and long lifespan are on par with the best examples of sustainable administrative building design meeting Passivhaus standards. They considered this stone villa a model for all remote and challenging projects—from northern Iran and the Hyrcanian forests to mountainous and desert regions that require sustainable villa design resistant to wind and humidity.
Caochan na Creige has proven that sustainable villa design, sustainable flat villa design, or even residential building renovation with an indigenous and low-consumption approach is not only feasible but can also become the best house of the year in the world. If you are currently working on sustainable duplex villa design, sustainable residential building design, or even residential and administrative building renovation with a focus on nature and high longevity, this Scottish project is one of the most important references of 2025 that you can draw from its logic and details for your own projects today.