House Number Seven will now go head to head with the other projects on the
list for the biggest prize in architecture – the Stirling Prize, which is
awarded in September.

The shortlist – made up of RIBA 2014 winners – will be announced in July.

Stephen Hodder, RIBA president, said: “This year’s RIBA National Award winners
show that exceptional architecture can be found anywhere: on any high
street, in any village or town, and with any budget.

^{Inside
House Number Seven (DAVID BARBOUR)}

“Good architecture always begins with a committed client and it is extremely
heartening to see in this year’s crop of winners, the increasing
recognition, notably in the public sector, of the vital role of good design
in attracting visitors, students and clients and of the dramatic influence
that a beautiful building has on communities and pride.”

Mrs Kerr, a retired occupational therapist and her husband, a retired
insurance broker, bought House Number Seven in 2008.

It is on the Isle of Tiree, the most westerly island of the Inner Hebrides
which is 12 miles long and three miles wide and has a population of just
700.

They planned to renovate the cottage and live there when they were not at the
main home in Glasgow.

But they found it was structurally unsafe and needed tearing down so
commissioned Malcolm, an architect, to design a three bedroom house on the
site.

His design comprises of two elements – a modern “living” house, which from the
outside resembles a cattle shed, and a guest house, which was constructed
using stone from the original cottage and takes the form of a traditional
Hebridean blackhouse. They are joined by a glass-roofed central atrium.

The judges said the house was full of “thoughtful playfulness” and inspired a
“Marmite response” with its “busy juxtaposition of forms and materials” but
said: “mixed views amongst the jury members turned to unanimous enthusiasm
on greater engagement”.

Mr Kerr said he wanted to create a “traditional cottage with ‘agricultural’
buildings around it that looked as if it had grown organically over time.”