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nest are just back from a trip to Scotland’s Housing Expo in Inverness. It’s a fantastic opportunity for anyone with an interest in housing, architecture, design and technology to see first hand what some of Scotland’s leading architects have created.

Most of the houses have been built, although much of the landscaping of the site has yet to be completed. The Expo’s had over 10,000 visitors now and hopefully these will have included developers, planners and local government, who will be able to take something from the Expo and introduce it into their current and future schemes.

52 houses in total have been designed by some of Scotland’s leading architects. It provides a showcase for new methods of construction, materials, design, master planning, landscaping and architecture.

Each architectural practice teamed up with a developer to create a unique home and each are jostling for position within the scheme. Sustainability was a key feature throughout all the houses, be it an air source heat pump, solar panelling, water recycling or recycled materials.

The Expo can be judged and discussed on a variety of levels – sustainability, design, cost to build or functionality. For the purposes of this blog, I just want to talk about the things that stood out for me, the houses and detailing I liked and the designs I felt worked best and why.

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There were several recurrent themes running throughout the Expo. this year. Here’s my top ten;

1. Cladding was everywhere – be it cedar, larch. Sometimes it was orange, occasionally black and also bright green!
2. Recessed sliding doors were huge. They’re a great space saving solution and offer a flexible way to access rooms.
3. Mezzanines. Mainly small, sometimes useful (but now and again a complete waste of time).
4. Double height living spaces. Utilising the mezzanines, these rooms were great and allowed light to flood into the houses creating drama and an enormous sense of space.
5. Zinc. This must’ve been the most popular choice of materials for roofs. As used to fantastic effect in Malcolm Fraser Architects house.
6. Screening. Be it sliding or concertina doors, this internal addition was a great way to close off or open up a room.
7. Sustainability in all its forms – as previously mentioned.
8. Small bedrooms. We need more space in these rooms.
9. Light, light and more light. The architects have all tried to get as much into each house as possible using large glazed sliding doors, Velux windows and open plan areas.
10. White walls – lots of them. What’s wrong with a bit of colour?

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Overall the standard of architecture is very high with several of the practices really standing out for me, namely HLM Architects, Nord and Rural Design, here’s a brief review of each of them;

Passive house

The Passive House by HLM Architects was outstanding. It was carefully considered and clearly very well designed. The architects have worked meticulously to consider how the home would be function and how each room could be utilised. The design is creatively represented in a home which is both practical and also very beautiful. Their clever use of room partitioning and double height living space creates an ideal family home. Let’s hope many of the developers pick up on this as a practical model which could be easily rolled out.

Stone house

Nord’s Stone house incorporated an incredibly dramatic living and dining space with beautiful angles and ceiling detailing. The use of Caithness stone was exemplary and the local craftsmen used have done an amazing job at installation. The two external spaces were well considered with easy access from both the dining and kitchen areas. Nord were one of the few practices to team up with a contemporary furniture supplier (Goodd) to enliven the interiors, this really added to the drama in the rooms and helped accent the architecture. My only criticism is that the house would have benefitted with the kitchen located upstairs next to the living and dining areas.

The Secret Garden

And finally, The Secret Garden by Rural Design. This must have been the people’s favorite. Whether it was down to the warmth of materials, the homely feeling one felt or the interior staging, they all added to the charm and playfulness within the home. Rural Design cleverly used mezzanines within the guest and children’s bedrooms allowing the master to dominate in both size and scale. Their clever car port incorporated a handy outdoor sink – ideal for washing the home grown veg from the purpose built beds.

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I must also mention -

Anta and Rural Design for their amazing outdoor living spaces and David Somerville Architects for their fantastic outdoor workspace. Graham Massie for his uniquely  bold approach, Richard Murphy Architects for the quality of construction detailing and Oliver Chapman Architects’ shingles.

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Whereas I don’t really want to criticise the Expo too much, as I generally see it as a positive event, I feel it important to highlight some of the areas I feel could be improved for future Expo’s. A selection of the houses have been carefully considered whereas others have been primarily used by the architects to flex their creative muscles. Unfortunately many of the homes incorporate superfluous detailing including internal juliet balconies and makeshift home office space,  often ill-considered and unusable. Storage space was lacking as too were decent size bedrooms.

One other criticism is that the interior finish in many of the properties is very poor. The level of workmanship, detailing, furniture and fittings is below standard and this really lets the houses down. I understand that the developers were working to a budget and that certain sponsor’s work had to be used, but there could have been far greater quality control in this area. There is a wealth of design and furniture making talent within Scotland, surely it would have been a great idea to team up with some of the contemporary producers and suppliers to showcase the best of design too.

In summary, the Expo is a great event and well worth the trip. Support our architects and get up there and see what amazing homes they’ve created. You never know, you may wish to buy one…….