Wayne Hemingway
The UK needs to raise the bar for Architecture
“If we continue to allow house builders to build identikit rabbit hutches, which research regularly shows are largely unloved by a population in the grip of a major housing shortage, we will simply find ourselves pulling them down in 30 years, in the same way that we are now pulling down our mistakes of the ‘60s and ‘70s. People genuinely want, and need, sustainable, lasting and well-designed, yet affordable housing in areas where there is the greatest need.
“What house buyers really want are stylish, high-quality dwellings close to friends, family, work and recreational facilities at prices they can afford. We need to start raising the bar for architecture and design in the UK, and creating sustainable homes that are designed to meet people’s needs, whilst acting as a sound investment in our future. This is where the Highland Housing Fair comes in. Its ethos is all about creating architect-designed, sustainable homes that will act as a real catalyst for change. It will encourage people to look at what they expect from the design of their home, and to demand better than what seems to currently be the norm.
“The Highland Housing Fair is all about upping the design quality of new homes, and proving that it doesn’t have to be an ‘either/or’ question: quantity and quality really can go hand in hand and affordable housing can also be superbly designed. We just need to make this the norm rather than the exception. As more and more organisations within the house building industry recognise this and come together to create change, momentum will build and the sea-change will happen.
“This is a rare opportunity to create something wonderful for the Highlands, and for Scotland, that could be the envy of the rest of the UK, an opportunity to create a sustainable community with its own unique set of characteristics, set in an environment that is crying out for new homes with which to address the current chronic shortage.”
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