1 July 2009 – Housing:
Panel - Wayne Hemingway, Malcolm Fraser and Mary Arnold Forster
Future Scotland 3: Housing is sponsored by Rapploch URC
9 July 2009 – Regeneration:
Panel – Piers Gough, Chris Brown and Eleanor McAllister
Future Scotland 4: Regeneration is sponsored by Inverclyde URC.
Outspoken critic of contemporary housing, Wayne Hemingway sparked the latest Future Scotland debate, which was held yesterday at The Lighthouse.
Hemingway, who 'threw down the gauntlet' at the third Future Scotland Debate focusing on housing, has been “mouthing off” about the state of British housing for some time, particularly the current view of a house as a way to make money. “We need to put livability front and centre, and stop thinking of houses as something you make money out of. We need to create housing with gardens, great play areas, local shops and both public transport links and bike lanes.“ However, he has not simply been mouthing off, but has been putting his money where his mouth is by working with developers such as Wimpey (the Staiths Southbank development in Sunderland) and Stirling Developments (Calderwood, West Lothian) to create housing that fosters a sense of community.
Edinburgh based architect Malcolm Fraser is equally outspoken. “There is too much discussion about what buildings look like. We should concentrate on creating an environment where there are sunny gardens, places for children to kick a football around ….and we need to invest any the money in the basic house design rather than in creating curb appeal.” Fraser tells the story of a meeting with one developer who on seeing his proposed housing designs asked “where are the “gob ons.”? What this meant was where are the porticos, trellises, carriage lamps and the like. “We responded that money earmarked for these was invested in the basic design, larger windows, allowing more light to enter, better materials and better relationship of building to the landscape.”
These arguments, which were raised throughout the course of the debate, also saw a contribution from Mary Arnold Forster, of Dualchas Building Design, the award-winning Skye-based practice that combines modern ideas and technology with a respect for the past, and whose housing designs are celebrated for the way in which they complement the natural environment.
A full account of this event will be coming soon on this website.
Next week the debate broadens out to look at Regeneration. Leading British architect, Piers Gough CBE, who masterplanned what is widely agreed to be one of the most successful and admired regeneration projects of recent years - the Crown Street redevelopment in The Gorbals - will kick start the debate. Further contributions will be made by the heads of organisations that are setting the blueprint for regeneration of brown field sites, Chris Brown of Igloo Regeneration Partnership - a partnership of pension and life funds managed by Aviva Investors that invests in and develops urban regeneration sites across the UK, and Eleanor McAllister, OBE Managing Director of the pathfinder Regeneration company, Clydebank Re-built - a partnership formed by West Dunbartonshire Council and Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire to deliver the regeneration of the former John Brown shipyard site.
Both debates are presented by The Lighthouse and Architecture + Design Scotland with media partners Herald Newspapers and the AJ.
For futher information and to book your place for any of the forthcoming Future Scotland Debates click on the following Lighthouse Link
