Headmaster’s House

• Location Dilijan, Armenia
• Services Architecture, Interior Design
• Area 3000 sq ft
• Completion May 2015
• Cost USD 500,000

This project is a part of the UWC Dilijan College Campus, situated on 88 hectares of land, located within the National Park of Dilijan. UWC Dilijan College is the first project in Armenia to receive a BREEAM certification.

Due for completion in May 2015, the Headmaster’s house has been designed above the boarding houses built in Phase 1 of the school. The two storey house contains a basement along with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, an office, and a library with a balcony overlooking the school. When complete the house will house the school’s principal and form part of a cluster of private residential log houses.

Built with logs – the Headmaster’s house nestles comfortably within its rustic context. Constructed using 13 metre Larch logs the house will not require additional insulation in the winter, and the log construction will keep the rooms cool in the hot summer months. Although log houses are not typical throughout Armenia, it was felt that the materials would be appropriate within the mountainous context of Dilijan.

Each house is being constructed using the traditional Russian log handcrafting techniques. The timber is larch and this was initially prepared and assembled in Moscow, then transported to Yerevan for reassembly and construction.
Wherever possible all parts of logs have been utilised leaving no waste – whether it is in the construction for the shingle roofs, cladding, or for the construction of scaffolding and protection boards. Any waste has also been used by the workforce as a method of heating during the white months.