Eilidh Izat

Eilidh is one of Scotland’s brightest and most sought-after young architects. She is devoted to working in Scotland and making buildings that have a particular poetic and material quality, that reference cultural heritage in a contemporary manner and have an emotional effect on their users.

Eilidh’s interest in architecture is as a built art form. She designs slowly and intuitively, allowing a building to develop a voice of its own during the process. Her quiet championship of local and natural materials is visible through all her work and she spends years developing relationships with some of Scotland’s finest trades and makers, regardless of age or experience, who help realise her projects in built form.

Her architecture draws on many sources of experience and imagination. She graduated from Glasgow School of Art and The University of Edinburgh and went on to work at Kengo Kuma in Japan and Helen & Hard in Norway before returning home to Scotland. Eilidh completed her Part 3 while at Reiach & Hall and gained experience in residential practice at WT Architecture.

In 2017, she established Izat Arundell together with her partner Jack and her first solo project, Porteous Studio, won best Small Project at the EAA Awards 2018 as well as Best Project Under 200k at the Scottish Design Awards in the same year as well as being published extensively including the likes of Dezeen, The Times and Gestalten.

Since then she has designed over thirty projects ranging from tiny bathrooms and bespoke kitchens to substantial renovations and extensions. Eilidh’s first new build house, which is a house for herself and Jack on the Isle of Harris, was completed in 2023. This was not only designed but built by the couple, together with Eilidh’s brother Alasdair who is a furniture maker. The house has already been featured in the Sunday Times and The Modern House and is being submitted for consideration for several awards.

Alongside professional practice, Eilidh has lectured at the University of Dundee and the University of Edinburgh and contributed to interim and year-end crits. She is a passionate advocate for craftsmanship and self-build projects and aims to lead by example. Her knowledge and understanding of architecture continues to grow and her love of the craft and profession is tangible on each and every project.