Morston Assets have teamed up with the Scottish Government and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Consultancy to launch the Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative (SSCI) Design Competition for their £450million ‘Yours Whitecross’ development. The competition appeals for house design proposals from registered architects, working in partnership with developers, housebuilders or RSL’s, to suit the low carbon aspiration of the ‘Yours Whitecross’ scheme.
‘Yours Whitecross’ has been selected as an exemplar project by the Scottish Government as part of their Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative, which aims to encourage the creation of places, designed and built to last, where a high quality of life can be achieved. Morston Assets recognised that the aims and objectives of the SSCI and, the principles that each ‘Yours’ development represent - Good Homes, Good Jobs, Good Neighbours were very closely aligned. Morston Assets Chairman, Tom Harrison, commented, “Our Good Homes principle is a constantly evolving design aspiration and those we partner with are encouraged to continually develop techniques that meet the best environmental standards. The designs need to both look good, but encourage lifestyle changes that will come as we begin to adapt to a low carbon way of life.”
Chief Executive of Morston Assets, David Dodge, said, “We are delighted that our vision for Yours Whitecross is the driving force behind this competition. By working closely with the Scottish Government and RIAS we are confident that our aspirations, to create good homes, good jobs and good neighbourhoods will be met.” He continued, “A key part of the ‘Yours’ brand is that the homes are sustainable in both design and use, are built within home zone layouts and facilitate home working and entrepreneurialism. I know this has been reinforced as part of the competition and I’m confident that what we achieve will not just look good, but be great to live in and be even better for the environment. We very much look forward to seeing the ideas that are submitted.”
Scottish Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said, “The design and development of sustainable housing is at the heart of what this Government wants for communities across Scotland. This Design Competition is an exciting opportunity for practices to come forward with bold and challenging architecture that can contribute to sustainable development and the fight against climate change.
“I look forward to seeing high-quality and creative responses developed for Scotland. What is different about this competition is that designs, while inspiring and innovative, must be realistic and commercially viable. Designing original and inventive buildings that can be realised and replicated is a vital element in supporting the construction sector to deliver the low-carbon communities that Scotland needs.”
For more information on the competition visit
www.e-architect.co.uk/competitions/ssci_design_ideas_competition.htm
or www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/AandP/Projects/SSCI.