15 March 2019

Awards to continue to raise profile of good design

The Aberdeenshire Architectural and Landscape Design Awards will continue to highlight the best of the area’s design and promote excellence and innovation in 2020.

Councillors agreed today (Thu, Mar 14) to carry on with the biennial event, intended to stimulate greater awareness of good design and its benefits.

The 11th awards took place last year, presented by Deputy Provost of Aberdeenshire Ron McKail.

Categories included prizes for innovative solutions to housing need, future-proof living, building communities for the future and conservation and building adaption.

There were 57 submissions across six categories, including one for students. The categories will remain largely the same in 2020 – the inclusion of a regeneration element is being considered.

The overall best submission and winner of the Ian Shepherd Award in 2018 was the Portsoy Sail Loft, designed by Pinny Neil of LDN Architects for the North East Scotland Preservation Trust.

Members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee (ISC) have agreed to proceed with the awards again in 2020.

They have run since 1997 and are considered a cost-effective means of benchmarking the quality of recent development, the effectiveness of policies and the development management process.

Councillors have however asked that the possibility of sponsorship for the awards is investigated.

ISC Chair, Peter Argyle, said: “Being chair of the judging panel for a number of years has been a great pleasure, but there have been some very difficult decisions to make on a number of excellent submissions.

“The range of excellent entries to the awards over the years is truly impressive and I look forward to seeing even more innovation in the course of next year’s awards. The level of design and creativity that we see in the new buildings and designed spaces across Aberdeenshire is worthy of recognition.”

ISC vice chair and fellow judge, John Cox, added: “I really enjoy being a member of the judging panel and I hope the awards will continue to put good design front and centre in Aberdeenshire.

"As councillors we see a wide range of development proposals and a wide range of approaches to design - it is important to have a forum through which increasingly high standards of design are encouraged.”

Other judges on the panel have included representatives from the Aberdeen Society of Architects, Historic Environment Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture.

More information about how to take part in the awards will be released in due course, with a ceremony due to take place in October 2020 at Banchory’s The Barn arts centre.

See more about the Aberdeenshire Architectural and Landscape Design Awards on our website at: http://bit.ly/AALDA1920