Edinburgh-based Pend Architects has successfully completed a thoughtful renovation and expansion of Whitberry, a Grade B listed Georgian farmhouse located in Tyninghame, East Lothian, Scotland. The 408-square-meter project, completed in 2024, demonstrates how contemporary architectural interventions can respectfully enhance historic properties while meeting modern family needs.
The original farmhouse presented significant challenges, with its rear elevation revealing a patchwork of historic additions built over different periods. These haphazard extensions, characterized by varying reddish sandstone and brickwork techniques, had created a fragmented interior layout that forced the family to navigate through multiple rooms just to reach the garden. The arbitrary nature of these successive additions had resulted in a difficult, cellular arrangement that no longer served contemporary living requirements.
Pend's architectural solution centered on creating a characterful 70-square-meter extension that would consolidate the rear elevation while establishing clear visual and physical connections between interior and exterior spaces. The design features a distinctly contemporary fluted stone wall that interrupts the historic facade, transitioning into full-height glazing with cherry timber-framed sliding doors and a discrete glass-to-glass corner detail.
The new extension serves multiple functional purposes while maintaining architectural sensitivity. A horizontal, light-colored concrete fascia visually stabilizes the rear facade by tying together the previously disjointed historic extensions. Below this unifying element, the architects designed a blush-toned precast stone wall that continues the narrative of masonry additions while reflecting modern construction techniques. The reddish-pink coloring of the stonework playfully references the existing East Lothian sandstone and brickwork, while its fluted form echoes the undulating pattern of the adjacent pantiled roof.
Inside, the renovation has transformed the home's functionality dramatically. The original kitchen, previously constrained in the center of the plan and cut off from the garden with only a single small north-facing window, has been relocated to the new rear extension. This repositioning has created a generous, light-filled environment that forms the central heart of the home, featuring dual-aspect views of both the garden and a newly created small courtyard topped with a timber canopy.
Pend's holistic approach extended beyond mere spatial reorganization to encompass the family's daily routines and lifestyle needs. The architects conducted thorough analysis of how the household, which includes three young children and several dogs, actually uses the space throughout the day. This observational approach directly informed the placement of external openings and built-in storage solutions, ensuring that muddy boots and sports equipment could be managed without traveling through the main living areas.
Technical improvements include underfloor heating throughout the ground floor, powered by an efficient air source heat pump system that provides both heating and hot water for the entire house. Given the north-facing orientation of the rear elevation, the architects prioritized natural light optimization through a large vaulted skylight that brings daylight deep into the kitchen space. A wide internal opening allows this light to filter through to the adjoining dining room, creating continuous brightness and improved spatial flow.
The project also includes practical service areas, with a concealed door designed to blend seamlessly into the kitchen joinery leading to laundry and boot rooms. These spaces form a practical threshold between the main house and an annex that now operates as an Airbnb rental, demonstrating the project's commercial viability alongside residential improvements.
Ben MacFarlane, Associate at Pend Architects, emphasized the project's philosophical approach, stating that Whitberry presented an opportunity to become part of an ongoing architectural story. The firm analyzed what gave the existing property its character and charm, enabling them to preserve and enhance these qualities through contemporary interventions. Like the extensions before them, the new additions reflect the construction technologies and design sensibilities of their time while maintaining respectful dialogue with the historic structure.
The successful completion of this project demonstrates how sensitive architectural intervention can resolve functional challenges while contributing meaningfully to a building's ongoing legacy. The extension achieves the difficult balance of being distinctly contemporary yet contextually grounded, creating something original and new while remaining deeply connected to the farmhouse's historic character and the broader East Lothian architectural landscape.
