Delivering Better Places in Scotland: RICS

Delivering better places in Scotland Guide, Scottish Architectural Development

Delivering Better Places in Scotland

RICS News, A+DS – Scottish Architecture and Design

28 Jan 2011

Delivering better places in Scotland – 2011

Guide launched to help create well-designed, successful communities

A guide produced in partnership with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Scotland and Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS) is being launched today, aimed at providing better places in Scotland to live, visit and work. It is aimed at a variety of public, private and community stakeholders whose role it is to regenerate or design neighbourhoods.

Examples of eight European neighbourhoods considered to be well planned, designed and successfully developed are highlighted in the guide as places that Scotland can learn from. They include a site in an area of Stockholm, Sweden, whose priority was delivering an energy-efficient, low waste community; and a new area of Amsterdam, Netherlands, which was built on several artificial islands, requiring exceptional use of bridges to make it accessible.

In summary, the guide suggests that the main ingredients of delivering successful places are:

• Good leadership
• Co-ordinated delivery
• Controlling the spatial development framework
• Achieving fast and co-ordinated regulatory approvals
• Exercising ownership power
• Attracting funding for advance infrastructure provision
• Securing design quality through procurement strategies
• Thereafter: continuing to invest and provide stewardship over time.

The Delivering Better Places in Scotland guide is a partnership between the Scottish Centre for Regeneration (SCR) in the Scottish Government, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Scotland and Architecture + Design Scotland (A+DS) who worked with the University of Glasgow.

Steven Tolson from RICS Scotland said: “Chartered surveyors play a key part in planning, regenerating and delivering places for people to live, work and visit. By learning from the way other countries do things such as those in this guide, Scotland can achieve well designed, sustainable communities for people to enjoy for generations to come.”

Diarmaid Lawlor from A+DS commented: “The Delivering Better Places guide explains the ‘how’ of getting good places built on the ground. The core principles are simple: strong vision and leadership, strong spatial frameworks and a commitment to stewardship over time. The report highlights the need for a diversity of approaches to make better places happen. A+DS is committed to continued joined up working with all partners to achieve better places in Scotland.”

A Scottish Government Spokesperson concluded: “Our Delivering Better Places Guide looks to lessons from outside of Scotland to help us understand how others have gone about the task of delivering places and making them work. Sharing lessons and learning from within Scotland and beyond can help people work together more effectively to ensure we deliver quality sustainable places”.

Delivering better places in Scotland information from RICS

Location: Scotland

Architecture in Scotland

Contemporary Scottish Architecture

Scottish Architecture Designs – chronological list

Scottish Building News

Scottish PFI

Scottish Houses

Scottish Architecture

Scottish Housing

Scottish Buildings

Contemporary Architecture in Scotland – architectural selection below:

Paisley Museum Building News, western Scotland
Design: AL_A
Paisley Museum Renewal, Scotland
image courtesy of architects office
Paisley Museum Renewal

Macallan Distillery in Speyside, Speyside, Highlands, Northern Scotland
Design: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP)
Macallan Distillery in Speyside Scotland
photo © Simon PricePA Wire
New Macallan Distillery in Speyside, Scotland

Comments / photos for the Delivering better places in Scotland page welcome

Location: Scotland