Building Briefs – April 27th

An Argyll and Bute town centre public realm scheme has been shortlisted at the Scottish Design Awards.

The Helensburgh regeneration project has been listed in the Realm/Landscaping category.

Designed for the council by Austin-Smith:Lord, the project forms part of the local authority’s CHORD initiative and was created to improve economic activity and enhance the visitor experience in the town.

Features include an ‘Outdoor Museum’ in Colquhoun Square and the redevelopment of all principal surrounding streets as well as the West Bay Esplanade.

The shortlisting marks the sixth awards nomination for the project, which has also been short-listed in the RIAS/RIBA Awards 2016, the RICS Awards 2016 (Regeneration category), the FX International Design Awards, the Civic Trust Awards and the Scottish Property Awards.

Winners of the Scottish Design Awards will be announced on Wednesday, 25 May.

Work continues on £31.4m Selkirk Flood Protection Scheme

Work on the £31.4 million Selkirk Flood Protection Scheme is continuing in the Scottish Borders.

A section of Dunsdale Haugh will be closed for 20 weeks from 03 May to allow a flood protection wall to be built between Shaw Burn and Dunsdale Haugh as part of the Selkirk flood scheme.

In addition, a new culvert will be installed under the road.

Substantial road network upgrades have already taken place in the Riverside area. New sections of link road have been developed to allow traffic to use the local diversion route via Level Crossing Road, with further routes into Riverside Road for local access only.

The multi-million pound flood scheme will protect almost 600 properties in the town against major flooding events and is due to be completed by the end of 2016.

Most common reasons behind Scotland’s 27,000 empty homes revealed

A helpline set up to help reduce the number of empty homes in Scotland has revealed some of the reasons given for why privately-owned homes are left unoccupied for long periods of time.

Two of the top reasons are the fear of becoming a landlord and the responsibilities it brings, along with waiting for property prices to rise in order to sell. A lack of motivation or know-how was also often quoted as a reason for leaving homes empty for six months or longer, as well as a lack of insurance to cover the cost of repairing a damaged home.

Some empty home owners admitted they had an emotional attachment to their empty homes and found it hard to let go of them – sometimes for decades on end – because they had grown up there.

One of the more unusual reasons included an owner who did not realise for years that they had inherited a property – worth over £150,000 – after a relative passed away.

The data, compiled from calls made during the first year of the free empty homes helpline, suggests that many of the country’s 27,000 long-term empty homes could be brought back into use with the right advice and support for owners and communities.

The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership, which is run by Shelter Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, operates the free national helpline. It estimates that long-term private empty homes across Scotland are worth a combined total of £4.5 billion. It is estimated that the cost of refurbishing an empty home ranges from £6,000 - £25,000. The average cost of a new build home in Scotland is £100,000.

Since its launch in 2010 the partnership has helped councils and others to bring back into use over 1,750 homes across the country.

Architecture exhibition and events to be held in Selkirk

An exhibition and free related events including talks and art demonstrations will take place in Selkirk from 30 April to 8 May.

‘REFLECTIONS : glass : water : art : science’ showcases contemporary artwork by a variety of artists inspired by the creative interaction of reflective material within the designed landscape of The Haining House and loch in Selkirk.

The exhibition is part of the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design 2016, the Festival of Architecture and the Borders Science Festival. It is being supported by the Selkirk Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS), Creative Scotland and various other partners.

The residency programme, coordinated by Inge Panneels, local artist and senior lecturer from the Department of Glass and Ceramics at the University of Sunderland, was led by three ‘agent provocateurs’, and brought together creative practitioners from a variety of backgrounds including sculpture, photography, sound and dance, as well as glass and architecture students from Sunderland and Edinburgh universities.

The exhibition, at The Haining, will bring together a selection of the works produced as part of the residency as well as developed pieces such as a collaborative sound and visual experience by Mark Timmins and James Wyness, the choreographed kinetic film by Helen Douglas, Jenna Agate and Claire Pencak, and a reflective installation by Felicity Bristow and Graham Patterson.

A series of related events will also take place throughout the exhibition period including a glass blowing experience at Lindean Mill Glass and Craft Scotland funded “Meet your Maker” demonstrations of lampworking and glass engraving with artists Zoe Garner and Heather Gillespie.

Presentations on contemporary glass art by eminent Borders artist Douglas Hogg and the history of Scottish window glass by archaeologist Robin Murdoch will also take place, along with talks by leading academics Inge Panneels, Dr Cate Watkinson, and Dorian Wiszniewski on their research into glass : water : art : science.

There will also be the entertaining children’s performance ‘the Medieval Construction Science show’.

All of the events are free to attend.

Resurfacing works to begin in West Lothian

Essential resurfacing works are due to get underway next month in West Lothian.

Workers will repair Dixon Terrace in Whitburn over two Sundays in May.

To allow works to be carried out safely, the road will be closed from its junction with Polkemmet Road to a point 200 metres east of the junction from 7am - 7pm on 22 and 29 May.