The completed bespoke garden pod from the side

A Private Modular Garden Pod in a Woodland Setting

Project Details

Project Summary

  • Garden Pod, created offsite and constructed onsite
  • Picturesque woodland setting
  • Floor area 38m2
  • Underfloor heating throughout
  • Western Red Cedar finish externally
  • Demolition and removal of existing outbuilding
  • All groundworks, foundations and drainage
  • Aluminium windows and doors, including bespoke bi-fold doors onto decking area
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Modular Garden Pod in the woods

The Challenge: Creating a garden pod for a woodland site

On an estate in Hawick, Roxburghshire, the client wanted to build a garden pod equipped with all services to provide additional leisure space, making the most of an attractive woodland setting with lake views.

“Modular garden pods provide fast, easy and cost effective solutions to add space for work or leisure. At Enviro Building Solutions, we undertake initial planning surveys and work closely with property owners to create the perfect pods, complete with electrics and plumbing, achieving high quality finishes reflecting individual design preferences.”

Jonathan Collins, Enviro Building Solutions

Making the most of the site

The building was designed to incorporate a decking area accessed by bi-fold doors to make the most of the views and the rural environment.

Challenges included devising a modular building where the sections could be manually transported to the desired location because of the lack of formal access to the site.

Cedar clad garden pod during construction

The resultant building sits discreetly 150 metres from the main house, providing an attractive and practical addition to the existing living space.

Designing for access

The optimum site selected for positioning the pod was located within the grounds and gardens of the main house. There was no natural vehicular access for delivery of the building sections, with the site some 100 metres from the best unloading point.

The woodland setting presented significant access issues, which influenced the design of the pod. Enviro Building Solutions devised a modular system where the individual panels were sized for transportation by hand to the chosen spot, and ‘walked’ into place before construction began.

Practicality and innovation

The team from Enviro Building Solutions began by dismantling and removing an existing outbuilding to make space for the new garden room.

Mains electricity was brought by cable through a trench to the site, and the plumbing design included a cassette toilet facility equipped with a macerator to avoid the cost and disruption of installing mains drainage.

The completed bespoke garden pod from the side

This was a totally bespoke build as specified by the client, including elegant Western Red Cedar cladding to the externals and additional elements such as underfloor heating throughout.

A beautifully reclaimed timber floor created such an excellent effect that the client decided to use this for internal cladding too, creating a delightfully rustic effect.

Especially cold weather experienced at the time of the build presented additional challenges, but the project was completed successfully on time and to budget.

Restaurant entrance to the new modular extension at Craigie Hotel

Modular Restaurant Extension, Link Building and Events Pod for Listed Hotel Building

Craigie Hotel Illuminated in blue

Project Details

Project Summary

  • Construction of events pod, restaurant extension and link building for Scottish hotel
  • Pod 81m2 (includes external verandah); restaurant extension 137m2; link building 14m2
  • Thermowood cladding finish to externals
  • All groundworks, foundations and drainage
  • Aluminium windows and doors including bespoke bi-fold doors opening from pod to decked verandah
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The Challenge: Adding space and function for elegant listed building

The impressive Craigie House Hotel is situated at the foot of the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. Built in 1885, it was designed by George Washington Browne for the eminent zoologist James Cossar Ewart. Converted into a hotel in 1933, this elegant building has recently been fully refurbished.

Restaurant entrance to the new modular extension at Craigie Hotel

New modular restaurant extension

Enviro Building Solutions were tasked with constructing a modular building extension to increase space for the existing restaurant. Furthermore, they required a link corridor to join two separate hotel buildings and a garden pod for use as an events venue.

In harmony with the architecture and environment

The team has successfully created a trio of prefabricated spaces designed to complement the architecture and environment. All have been finished externally using thermowood heat-treated spruce and featuring aluminium windows and doors to give a high specification finish.

Garden pod at Craigie Hotel

The new pod is tucked away in a corner of the hotel’s leafy gardens, forming a perfect party pad with its own cocktail bar. It can be used for weddings, private parties, board meetings, presentations and networking events.

Creating a complementary finish

This was a challenging project. The hotel is a listed building and it was essential that the modular elements reflected the quality and substance of the architectural style, without detracting from the environment and surrounding grounds.

Inside the restaurant at Craigie Hotel

A thermowood heat-treated spruce cladding was selected to complement the colours and textures of the local stone.

Overcoming access and abutment issues

Because of site and location, both the two storey link building and modular extension were formed off-site using a ‘flat pack’ approach. Siting the restaurant extension and link building where old met new presented a number of technical challenges, with all seals and abutments critical in order to achieve a weathertight finish.

Two storey link building

The bespoke link building, which replaced a glass corridor, provided a far more cost effective solution than a traditional build and created an excellent and practical end result. Adding the restaurant extension has created an attractive external approach and entrance to the facility as well as increased dining space.

Bringing the utilities to service the pod

Siting the garden pod also presented access issues, and the modular sections were craned into place in a secluded corner of the grounds. All additional elements were manually transported around to the location at the rear of the hotel.

The veranda at Craigie Hotel

The team from Enviro were also responsible for bringing all utilities to the selected spot to serve the new pod, as well as fitting out the bar area. The ‘party pad’ has given the hotel an additional 54m2 of event space as well as an attractive external decked verandah measuring 27m2, accessed by bi-folding entrance doors to open up the space and bring the outdoors in.

The team from Enviro Building Solutions contended with tricky access and abutment issues as well as some of the coldest weather of the year to complete the entire project on time and to budget.