SSCI Design Ideas Competition, Whitecross, Linlithgow, Scotland, Shortlist, UK, Architects, 2010

SSCI Architecture Competition

RIAS Sustainable Housing Ideas Contest: Whitecross, West Lothian

19 Oct 2010

Whitecross Design Competition Winner

Ideas contest winner

Malcolm Fraser Architects

picture © Malcolm Fraser Architects Ltd

Commendations

Gareth Hoskins Architects

picture © Concrete & Clay

Elder & Cannon Architects

picture © Elder and Cannon Architects

HTA Architects

picture © HTA Architects Ltd

RMJM Scotland

picture © Barton Willmore, Karakusevic Carson, RMJM, STRATA

Result of Whitecross Design Competition
As part of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative (SSCI) RIAS Consultancy, from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, has been managing a Design Ideas Competition for a proposed sustainable housing development at Whitecross in West Lothian.

The competition sought design idea proposals from registered architects, working in partnership with developers/housebuilders, for a proposed low carbon community at Whitecross, near Linlithgow. The Whitecross project has been selected as an exemplar project by the Scottish Government as part of the SSCI.

Forty-one pre qualification submissions were received and a shortlist of five was selected by the judging panel. The shortlisted practices were (listed alphabetically):

– Elder & Cannon Architects Ltd
– Gareth Hoskins Architects Ltd
– HTA Architects Ltd
– Malcolm Fraser Architects Ltd
– RMJM Scotland Ltd

These practices prepared proposals for the judges to assess in association with interviews held on 14th October 2010. Images of the submissions can be viewed on the RIAS website www.rias.org.uk

It is proposed that the shortlisted competition entries will be on public display for viewing at the Urban Room at the ground floor of Edinburgh City Council offices at Waverley Court. Further details of dates and times for viewing will be released soon.

RIAS Consultancy is pleased to announce that the winner is Malcolm Fraser Architects.

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop said,

“The delivery of high-quality sustainable housing is at the heart of what this Government wants for communities across Scotland. The SSCI design competition has illustrated the depth of design talent in Scotland, with the five short-listed practices presenting bold and challenging architecture.

“I am delighted that all of the submissions demonstrate high-quality and creative solutions, taking account of commercial viability and responding to the particular requirements of the Whitecross site. These solutions showcase how innovative responses can help deliver places of real and enduring value in a time when the economic backdrop forces us all to be more resourceful.

“The winning team of Malcolm Fraser Architects has submitted an original and innovative proposal that I hope will be an important exemplar for the design and construction sector and help deliver low-carbon communities and sustainable economic growth for Scotland.”

The Chair of the judging panel, David Page of Page Park Architects, said,

“A strong shortlist of architecture and development teams competed for the first phase of development of the community extension for the village of Whitecross. Working to the masterplan conceived by Cadell2 the five consortia explored variations on the themes of creating a new sense of place on the site of a former brickworks near Linlithgow working to the brief of providing homes to meet the 2013 building regulations with their requirement for a 40% reduction in CO2 production. This Scottish Government initiative with Morston Developments is one of a number to lift the standard of place making and energy efficiency of new communities.

Elder and Cannon Architects enthused the jury with their sense of crafted place through the synthesis of courtyard typology and earthy brick materiality overlaid the CCG prefabricated timber frame technology.

HTA‟s partnership with Dualchas promoted a modular plan and sectional typology explored through their innovative work in the west coast of Scotland uniquely fused here with HTA‟s community based initiatives to promote community ownership of streets and public spaces.

RMJM boldly reconceptualised the masterplan with the identification of a wide variety of house typologies and settings to deliver a closer linkage between the existing village and proposed new settlement extension.

Gareth Hoskins Architects‟ careful reworking of the masterplan with Crudens was commended by the jury for its manipulation of a modular frame system to create a variety of street settings that would quickly establish a sense of contemporary place.

First place was awarded to Malcolm Fraser Architects with Stewart Milne Homes for development of themes explored at nearby Bo‟ness and more recently at the Scotland‟s Housing Expo. This consisted here of groupings of housing arranged around a sequence of courts and rows linked by a pedestrian spine stretching from the masterplan proposed civic garden in the north down to the river woodland walk to the south.

Clever manipulation of the building typologies adapted to the Cadell2 masterplan through adaptation of Stewart Milne Homes‟ prefabricated timber frame systems with innovative suggestions to the commercial development of the anchoring High Street.”

David Dodge, Chief Executive, Morston Assets Ltd said,

“We are delighted that our vision for Yours Whitecross has generated such exciting high quality proposed design solutions throughout this competition. The key focus 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.

We believe that this has been achieved by all of those shortlisted and was especially apparent in the winning entry. We look forward to delivering a truly sustainable community at Whitecross which delivers Good Homes, Good Jobs and Good Neighbourhoods.”

Scottish Architecture News

Scottish Buildings

21 Jun 2010

Scottish Government Sustainable Housing Ideas Competition

As part of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative (SSCI) the RIAS is managing a design competition based around the SSCI exemplar site at Whitecross, near Linlithgow. The competition, launched today, seeks housing and urban design proposals that combine high levels of sustainability and reductions in carbon emissions with a sensitive response to place and context.

It is expected that design proposals will reflect a ‘new vernacular’ for Scottish architecture that demonstrates how environmentally-sensitive designs might influence both the architecture and urban layout of contemporary development.

“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.”

The SSCI design competition is a restricted competition, split into two stages. The initial stage of the competition, launched today, invites expressions of interest and the completion of a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ). The second stage will involve the release of more detailed information to a maximum of five shortlisted parties. These parties will then be invited to submit design proposals to be judged by a specialist panel.

The Whitecross Design Competition is an architect-led ideas competition and is open to registered architects. It is expected that architects will work with other design professionals of their choosing in order to develop designs in sufficient detail for assessment by a judging panel.

A key objective of the Whitecross Design Ideas Competition is the development of designs that combine innovative responses to sustainable lifestyles with commercial viability. Architect teams invited to develop design for stage two of the competition will be required to have a developer involved in the team to provide information of costs and marketability.

Honoraria of £3,000 will be awarded to unsuccessful shortlisted bidders taken forward to the design proposal stage. The winner will receive £10,000. Following the announcement of the competition winner, the architect/ developer team behind the winning entry will be expected to work with Morston Assets to develop the designs further.

SSCI Design Ideas Competition information from RIAS 210610

Location: Whitecross, West Lothian, Scotland