Stables restoration captures Saltire Society’s housing design award

AN affordable homes development in Glasgow – created following the restoration of a former stables – has been named Housing Design of the Year by the Scottish cultural body, the Saltire Society.

Bell Street Stables – a late 19th century building initially used by the city’s cleansing department – has been converted by local architecture practice, Collective Architecture, on behalf of housing providers, the Wheatley Group, which carried out the required work in conjunction with construction company, CCG Scotland.

Noting a first prize of £1,500, the Saltire Society commended, among others, Ostro Passivhaus in Kippen, designed by Paper Igloo Ltd, and The Beekeepers House in Kelso designed by Zone Architects.

Says the Saltire Society (here) about the winner: “[It] was commended for its innate confidence to make its residents a real engine in its continuing transformation.”

Meanwhile, three awards were made in the Single Dwelling category: Lower Tullochgrue, in Aviemore, designed by Brown & Brown Architects and built by Spey Building and Joinery; House in Arisaig, designed by Rural Design Architects Ltd and built by Knoydart Construction Company Ltd; and Hebridean House, designed by Greig Penny Architecture Ltd and built by Paul MacInnes/Coastal Homes.

Bell Street Stables was also an award winner in the Multiple Dwelling category, as were two other entries: Havenfield Mews, Edinburgh, designed by Sonia Browse Architects and built by David Sparham Ltd; and Gannochy Lifetime Neighbourhood, Perth, designed by Anderson Bell Christie for the Gannochy Trust and built by Campion Homes.

Finally, the Beekeepers House in Kelso, built by Gibson & Hall, was named Chartered Institute of Building ‘Good Building’.

Pictured: Bell Street Stables, Glasgow Picture credit: Andrew Lee Photography