Nominee Summary
MAKAR is an Inverness-based offsite homebuilder designing and manufacturing timber-rich, low carbon homes across Scotland. In November 2025, MAKAR assembled the Paradigm Prototype in just one week. It is a two-bedroom net-zero and affordable home built from Scottish timber and natural materials, designed to be rapidly deployable across rural and island communities. Completed in November 2025, the 93m² show home sits beside MAKAR's precision manufacturing workshop, and is open for free weekly tours. Priced from £128,000 per home at scale, with modelled heating costs of £5.72 per week, it offers a credible, affordable solution to Scotland's rural housing emergency.
Building quality
The Paradigm home is built using MAKAR's natural Structural Insulated Panel (n-SIP) system: panels made entirely from Scottish timber, Warmcel cellulose insulation derived from recycled newspaper, and untreated larch cladding sourced from a woodland approximately 70 metres from the assembly site, milled at Logie Timber around 30 miles away. As well as sitting comfortably within and contributing to Scotland’s rural landscapes and economies, the timber-rich panels form a natural ‘breathing wall’ system which allows moisture to leave the building. We use no petroleum-based materials, no chemical preservative treatments, and no plastic vapour barriers. Recent reports show that Highland Council homes have seen a 38% increase in mould and damp complaints. By contrast, MAKAR’s design eliminates any risk of damp or mould, supporting the health of the building and occupants. A Passivhaus design approach ensures the home has high levels of airtightness, achieving wall U-values of 0.14 (roof 0.12, slab 0.09), with triple-glazed Nordan windows and NILAN mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). The result is a very energy efficient home, with heating costs modelled at just £5.72 per week, now being independently verified through a 15-month monitoring programme with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Datalab. These low costs from prioritising energy efficiency and renewable energy help protect those most vulnerable to fuel poverty and price hikes. Manufactured and assembled over two weeks, this home demonstrates that exceptionally high quality homes can be delivered rapidly to rural and remote areas of Scotland at affordable prices, and supported by local supply chains.
Ethical/environmental standards
The Paradigm Prototype demonstrates what becomes possible when local and Scottish procurement is built into home design and the potential for alleviating Scotland's rural housing emergency. The project brought together 27 supply-chain partners each donating materials, expertise, or time to make this demonstrator build possible. The UK currently imports approximately 80% of the timber it uses, with most timber homes designed around imported C24 timber. By contrast, the Paradigm is designed for Scottish C16 timber and proves that high-performance affordable homes can be homegrown, with far fewer carbon miles. The Paradigm home eschews the use of high-carbon and toxic materials. The breathable wall system that results from this specification carries direct benefits for both building and occupants, with layers of hygroscopic and vapour-permeable natural materials allowing walls to actively manage moisture, eliminating the well-publicised public health risk of damp and mould in affordable housing across Scotland, rising by 38% between 2023/24 and 2024/25. There are strong climate and environmental benefit too. Independent research from the University of East Anglia found that comparable MAKAR two-bed affordable homes have 27% lower embodied carbon than standard timber frame houses and 39% lower than masonry Passivhaus equivalents. Each home sequesters 39 tonnes of biogenic carbon at point of delivery. On a whole-life basis, accounting for sequestration, each Paradigm-like home removes 12.5 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere. At end of life, MAKAR’s material specification supports circularity, using non-toxic and recyclable materials, with no chemical treatments that prevent them being returned to productive use.
Community impact
Scotland declared a housing emergency in 2024. Rural and island communities bear a disproportionate burden as homes can be expensive to build, slow to deliver, and short in supply. While it can be deployed effectively in built up areas, the Paradigm home is designed specifically to address these conditions. Since its completion, the prototype has attracted over 250 influential visitors, including the First Minister, local authorities, community organisations, and 20+ SLE members. Free weekly tours give public insight into MAKAR's innovative manufacturing process and design approach, making the case that with the right planning and policy frameworks, affordable and sustainable homes can be built from Scottish materials at pace, supporting rural economies and combatting rural population decline. This prototype home has demonstrated impact beyond Inverness. Planning permission for two Paradigm homes on the Isle of Lismore – commissioned by the Lismore Community Trust – was granted in just 30 days, while MAKAR has recently been selected by the Kyle and Lochalsh Community Trust to take forward the design work for their proposed micro-ecovillage, including 6 affordable Paradigm homes. The Trust’s Chair noted, “We felt that MAKAR’s presentation showed a strong awareness of local challenges of depopulation, fuel poverty, the need for community infrastructure and supporting local businesses.” The homes have modelled heating costs of £5.72 per week, reducing fuel poverty. As the panelised system significantly lowers on-site time and costs, these homes can reach remote locations that are otherwise too expensive or logistically difficult to serve.
