Building on experience
An upsidedown layout has enabled Aileen and David Downie to make the most of the surrounding views of stunning countryside
DAVID BARBOUR & TOM MANLEY
When Aileen and David Downie decided to move back to their native Scotland, hunting for a plot rather than an existing house was an automatic decision. “We’d been living somewhere we’d built in York for 20 years,” says Aileen. “The idea of going back to a home we hadn’t created ourselves gave us both a sinking feeling.”
It only took a few months for the couple to find a patch of land that ticked all their boxes. “We trudged through the streets and visited all the various estate agents,” says Aileen. The Downies could see that the sloping site would lend itself to a structure dug down into the ground. “We didn’t want to blot out the views of the building behind,” says Aileen.