Architect designed dwellings to be showcased
Scotland’s Housing Expo has reported a major boost to the Scottish construction industry, with the appointment of the Highland Contractors Consortium Ltd as principal contractor to build 55 architecturally designed sustainable homes that will be showcased in Inverness at the UK’s first Housing Expo in August 2010. This is a unique collaboration between six of the North’s top housing contractors including William Gray Construction, Tulloch, Robertson Highland Morrison/Galliford Try, O’Brien Homes and James MacQueen.
Scotland’s Housing Expo will provide a vision for the next generation of Scottish housing and is based on an established model found in Finland and mainland Europe. It is set to put Scotland firmly on the map as an exemplar of sustainable living. 40% of the Expo homes will be affordable, with the remaining 60% available for sale on the open market.
Fully supported by the Highland Council and a consortium of agencies, the Expo is a result of an architectural competition which was entered by the cream of Scottish architecture to design these unique and state of the art homes.
Based on an innovative master plan for the whole site, the winning designs offer a view of future living for both affordable and private housing, using high quality design, demonstrations of sustainable technologies and new construction methods.
Work on the construction of the houses has now commenced following on from an earlier phase of infrastructure and plot preparation works.
The Expo houses and their contents will form a platform for showcasing the wealth of Highland and Scottish design talent, including interior and product design. The initiative also provides a ‘test bed’ for construction and technological innovation, which will inform Scottish house building† in the future.
The houses will inspire developers to learn new skills and source fresh ideas to incorporate into future designs, while demonstrating how new building standards can be met on energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
More information: www.scotlandhousingexpo.com
