Building Briefs – October 3rd

Double award success for Aberdeenshire housebuilding duo

Aberdeenshire companies Scotframe and Cairnrowan Custom Homes are celebrating after two of their collaborations were named as finalists at a UK-wide self-build housing awards.

‘Denwell Cottage’ in Insch, Aberdeenshire is in the running for Best Timber Frame Home, while ‘Glencommon’ near Banchory is a finalist in the Best Self Build under £250k category at the BuildIt Awards, which will take place in London on November 9. This is the second year running that Scotframe and Cairnrowan have been double finalists in these awards.

Headquartered in Inverurie, Scotframe manufactures and supplies full kit packages for housing and commercial projects. Established in 1989, the company now has 160 employees and a £35 million turnover. It has two manufacturing facilities in Inverurie and at Cumbernauld as well as sales offices and showrooms at Inverness, Dundee and Swindon.

Cairnrowan Custom Homes, based in Udny, builds homes which are A-rated for energy efficiency, air-tight and quick to build. The company builds all its homes using Scotframe’s Val-u-Therm PLUS system, and the close relationship between the two businesses has allowed them to develop their own bespoke detailing for projects and work quickly and efficiently as a team.

‘Glencommon’, designed by Fiddes Architects, is the only Scottish finalist in its category. Built in just seven weeks, this contemporary four-bedroom detached timber frame home is clad in a mixture of Siberian larch timber and a modern slate wrap-around. Extremely energy-efficient, Glencommon’s running costs are estimated to be less than £600 a year.

‘Denwell Cottage’, designed by Annie Kenyon Architects, is a bright and spacious four-bedroom home which uses a striking mix of timber cladding, a glazed gable, white render and a slate roof. The building was complete within 14 weeks to a set budget, making the build process as stress-free as it possibly could be for the client

Glasgow office recognised at UK’s top workplace awards

Glasgow’s Registers of Scotland – SVP Platform was last night named among the best workplaces in the country at the British Council for Offices (BCO) annual National Awards, taking home the ‘Fit Out of Workplace’ award.

The National Awards programme recognises top quality office design and functionality, setting the standard for excellence across the office sector in the UK. The awards dinner attracted over 1,200 key players from the office sector to celebrate the best-in-class talent. Winners from the 2018 Regional Awards programme attended the event at London’s Grosvenor House, hoping to take home the National Award for their category.

Registers of Scotland – SVP Platform was designed and delivered as a new smart working environment to support the organisation’s digital transformation programme, relocating staff from their previous Glasgow and Edinburgh offices.

The 17,000 sq.ft. fit-out project delivered a 50% reduction in floorspace, a corresponding 30% reduction in costs and a 75% reduction in carbon. To maximise the wellbeing of occupants and create an environment that reflected the business’ ongoing digital transformation, the existing lighting was replaced with LED smart lighting which adapts to the rhythm of staff’s day-to-day activity, while the desk layout maximises access to natural light changes. Staff have reported that these changes have led to increased physical activity and enhanced productivity.

Morrison Construction celebrates 70th birthday by raising funds for Highland charity

To celebrate 70 years since Morrison Construction was first established in the Highlands several fundraising events raising more than £1,636 for nominated charity Nansen Highland.

Nansen Highland is charity based in the Black Isle that provides services and support to young people with learning difficulties including specialised training, accommodation and housing support services.

Last week, leaders and young adults with Nansen Highland visited Morrison Construction’s Inverness office to take part in introductory sessions with staff and baking lessons before selling the goods in a fundraising sale.

The sessions provided an opportunity for the young adults that access the services offered by Nansen Highland to speak with Morrison Construction staff.

This event followed a 70th anniversary Family Fun Day held at the beginning of September by Morrison Construction.

The families of Nansen Highland leaders, young adults and Morrison Construction staff came together for the event at the Black Isle Show Ground, Muir of Ord.

A giant slide, bouncy castle, sumo suits, ice cream van, face painting, magician, tug of war, barbecue and raffle draw all contributed to an afternoon of fun for those who attended.

Housing minister opens new LAR development in East Lothian

Housing minister Kevin Stewart MSP has officially opened LAR Housing Trust’s first ever design and build development.

The development in Cockenzie, East Lothian, is also the first to be called off from the housing charity’s £5 million building framework.

The 26 new mid market rental homes, built by Hart Builders, part of The Cruden Group, are on the site of a former boatyard and boast enviable harbour views. Before LAR stepped in the site was in a terrible state, but it now consists of 22 two bed flats and four one bed flats.

This latest project marks continued growth in East Lothian for LAR and is the organisation’s third development to open in the area. A further site at Dolphingstone is also currently under construction with two more sites in the pipeline.

The Cockenzie site is a well known local landmark and was for 70 years a working boatyard run by the Weatherhead family, but closed down in 1969. LAR was approached by the council and local heritage group, Boatie Blest, on behalf of the Weatherhead family asking if some kind of recognition of the site’s past could be incorporated into the new development.

Local stonemason Gardner Molloy was commissioned to produce a mural as an integral part of the buildings.

Midlothian Council to progress plans for new homeless accommodation

Midlothian Council has agreed to progress with plans to convert an office building in Jarnac Court, Dalkeith, into temporary accommodation for homeless households following the conclusion of a consultation with the local community.

Housing officers held a drop in event for local residents to find out more and give their views about the plans. Meetings were also held with tenants groups and in addition there was the opportunity for people to provide feedback through traditional and social media channels. The council is taking on board comments received and planning to put in place additional measures such as CCTV and a phased occupancy to allay some of the concerns expressed by locals.

The council also agreed to approve an increase in the number of units in the building from 20 to 22. Further examination of the layout of the building has shown that there is sufficient space to accommodate an extra two rooms. This would further reduce council expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation.

The next step for the council is to now apply for an HMO license. This will detail the full design proposals.

Kingdom tenants have their say on new kitchen specification

Kingdom Housing Association tenants are advising the Association on its current review of new kitchen installations which seeks to provide tenants with more choices in a cost efficient manner.

A group of customers who wanted to have an input travelled to kitchen suppliers Joinery & Timber Creations in Dundee and met with Max Scotto, Kingdom’s tenant participation officer, and technical services manager, Bryan Livingstone.

Colin Tweddell, sales director with Joinery and Timber Creations, added: “It was good to catch up and to listen to the various opinions on the day. I thought the visit was definitely worth it and I hope everyone who attended got something out of the day.”