Malcolm Fraser Architects      House HS

If the community and buildings at Balvonie Braes are understood as prototypical, there is a chance that Scotland's Housing EXPO 2010 will serve as a turning-point for volume Scottish house-building. The oft-heard criticisms of repetitive, low expectation residential developments may be silenced if high-quality, locally relevant architecture is demanded, and if home-grown timber receives the aesthetic, economic and ecological recognition it deserves.

Balvonie Braes is an example of integrated community design. Although there is some provision of workspace between the houses, this looks insufficient to generate enough income to heat all of the homes. Sustainable food and energy production components are also missing. Most of the homes have private gardens, but with access to more nearby productive land the new community’s residents could be empowered to sustainably produce as much of their own food and fuelwood as they care to. Many of the houses feature efficient wood burning stoves. Energy should not be wasted transporting fuelwood which could be grown on site.

expo logo ©Scotland’s Housing Expo 2010                  photos & text ©Douglas Dalgleish 2010

Prototype