Living in Argyll: sustainable design
published this on 9:21 pm, Friday, 23rd October, 2009Environment| Sustainable Design | Comments (rss) | Respond | Ping |
Argyll’s Sustainable Design Awards and Your Vote: Start thinking about what makes places good to live in, to work in and to visit – and, from Monday 26th October, start voting online for your winners in a new Argyll awards scheme.
This links with exciting changes in how Planning will advise, support and approve – and we’ll be carrying features on these developments.
The new Sustainable Design Forum for Argyll and Bute exists to encourage us to think about the way we live and the way we would like to live. It also exists to keep us up to speed with current issues and choices. It is driven at the sharp end by Chair, Councillor Ron Simon from Cowal and Planning Development Officer, Paul Convery.
To get us all involved in this initiative from the start, it is running the 2009 Sustainable Design Awards – with public online voting.
There will be two awards in each of three categories – one decided by a panel of expert judges, largely drawn from Argyll; and one decided by you, by public voting. (There is a fourth category but since there is only one finalist in it, there will be no vote.)
For Argyll is the media partner of Argyll’s Sustainable Design Awards and will award the certificates to the three category winners chosen in the public vote.
We’ll be publishing regular features on the categories and on the shortlisted candidates from now to the end of public voting. We’ll be offering our own opinions – never a problem for us – and we’d love you to add yours, comment on each others and add ideas and information of your own.
Every feature has a ‘Comment’ box at the end of it, so use this to say what you want to say – and keep coming back to see what other people are saying.
Just as you don’t have to live in Argyll to vote, you don’t have to live in Argyll to add your opinions and ideas.
Below are some things to think about; photographs of the shortlisted buildings you can start voting for on Monday; a note on voting; an invitation from us – and an opportunity.
You and design
So – what matters to you about the place you live in, the place you work in and the places you visit for recreation or consultation?
- What makes you feel better? Light? Temperature? Freedom to move? Nooks and crannies? Open spaces? Good storage? Air quality? Views?
- What makes you feel worse? Inconvenient spaces? Poor access? Confinement? Logjam points? Lack of privacy? Noise? Ceiling height?
- What single thing would improve where you currently live, where you currently work and places you regularly visit?
- What materials make you feel good to have around you? What do you know about their strengths and weaknesses in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency?
Sustainability
Today’s big issue is ‘sustainability’. This is about creating buildings that do not harm the environment but benefit from it, are energy efficient and as cheap as possible to run and maintain.
It’s also about creating buildings that add positively to the visual identity of their surroundings; make it possible to live and work in them efficiently and hygienically; and are a pleasure to be in. Never forget pleasure.
In building design, sustainability is driven by a series of needs:
- to make housing affordable in building and in running;
- to combat climate change by cutting down harmful emissions like, for example, hydrocarbons from oil-based products;
- to use materials from sources that are renewable and whose manufacturing processes do not harm the environment; and to use materials that will not, in future disposal, harm people or the environment;
- to use energy generated from sustainable sources – essentially the four elements of air, water, earth and fire;
- to let what is naturally available, like sunlight, contribute freely to heating; (This brings into play the siting of a building and its attitude to the sun.)
- to insulate and draft-proof – and to ventilate; (There’s an interesting relationship here. If insulation values are high and sealing is efficient, air quality deteriorates, so ventilation is necessary. Over-ventilation though, loses the advantage of heat retention offered by insulation and draft-proofing.)
- to improve the quality of individual, family and community life.
Feel a twitch in your voting finger? Here come the finalists.
There are four award categories:
- Small Scale residential (up to 5 units or single houses)
- Large Scale Residential
- New-Build Non-Residential
- Conservation
Small Scale Residential short list (4 finalists)
Top left is Alt an Duin, Kilmory, Achnamara. Top right is Tir Nan Og, the Oa, Kilnaughton, Islay. Above left is Tigh Na Dobhran, Arduaine. Above right is Tanglewood, Otter Creek, Ichrahan, by Taynuilt.
Large Scale Residential short list (3 finalists)
Top left is 1-30 Logie Place, Kirkmichael, Helensburgh. Top right is 3-15 Feorlinbreck,Garelochhead. Above is Silverhill Cottages, Rosneath.
New-Build Non-Residential shortlist (4 finalists)
Top left is Mull Theatre, Druimfin, Tobermory, Mull. Top right is Taigh Solas, Tobermory, Mull. Above left is St Moluag’s Heritage Museum, Port a Carron, Lismore. Above right is Portavadie Marina, Portavadie, Cowal.
Conservation – one finalist
Machriemore Mill, Southend, Kintyre
Voting
On Monday we’ll announce the start of online public voting, give you the rules and set the link to the Sustainable Design Awards online voting page. And you have a lot more photographs to see and things to find out about on each finalist before you vote.
Two invitations from For Argyll
Would you like to contribute to a feature on any aspect of sustainable design?
- You may be for it or against all or part of it.
- You may have an internal soapbox we can make real for you.
- You may have built your own home, experimented with layout, materials, systems or services and have the benefits of your experience to offer.
- You may be a user or designer of buildings or involved in construction or fitting.
- You may be a supplier of relevant specialist goods and services In Argyll.
Use the Contact email at the top right of this screen and we’ll get back to you.
Would you like to put yourself forward as our Design Editor?
In this case you may be – but do not have to be – in some way, an industry professional. You do need to be interested, well informed, curious, questioning and fun.
Use the Contact email at the top right of this screen and we’ll get back to you.
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October 26th, 2009 at 11:30 am
[...] missed the introductory article we published on this at the weekend and which has been widely read, click here to read it now. Among other things, it gives you the finalists in each category and photographs of them. And to [...]