Burr's Stores

Sited just outside the village of Tongue, our proposal seeks to renew and re-purpose Burr’s Stores, a historic general store, victuallers and transport company, as a vibrant village hub and tourist destination; a community-focused place of gathering for locals and new visitors alike. The popularity of the North Coast 500 coastal route has ignited new interest and need for a wider range of facilities and amenities for work and leisure in the Kyle of Tongue.

PLACEMAKING - The Mercat

Our proposal is for a renewed and enhanced pedestrian street extending along a north/south axis; from the site entrance with new filling station and shop to the south, and Dunvarich House to the north. At it’s heart a village mercat will be framed by a collection of refurbished old buildings housing a range of public amenities and facilities. Building forms are familiar, harnessing the use of rectilinear buildings with traditional gable ends, pitched roofs, simple rooflines and a carefully selected palette of existing and complementary materials.

COMMUNITY & COMMERCIAL

The buildings in this proposal offer new and diverse functions to complement the existing businesses in Tongue; the filling station; events hall with a programme of cultural events, exhibition space for local craft makers and artists; pop-up for local growers; micro-brewery and shop with seasonal and locally made produce.

LANDSCAPE

Buildings will be set within a designed landscape formed as a collection of character areas: Arrival; Village Square; Courtyards; Burn and Woodland car park, which utilise strategic planting, water and hard materials as the backdrop to the building architecture and to frame key site views into the surrounding landscape.

The project was nominated in the 2020 Scottish Design Awards in their 'Future Projects' category.