Now in their 79th year, the Saltire Society Housing Design Awards celebrate excellence and achievement in Scottish house building and place-making and are part of a busy programme of special events and awards planned to celebrate the Saltire Society’s 80th anniversary year.

Those at the ceremony were lucky to hear a lively discussion between this year’s guest chair, Kirsty Wark, and former chairs Malcolm Fraser and Toby Paterson about Scottish housing design through the years.

Winners were recognised across Scotland in four different categories, each receiving a Saltire plaque:

Edinburgh University student Michael Mallinder-Macleod scooped the Saltire International Travel Bursary, created in partnership with the British Council Scotland, for a submission titled ‘Housing an ageing population: How are our neighbours doing it?’

Michael will now travel to Denmark and the Netherlands to interview architects involved in designing new models for elderly living and meet with residents to discuss their ideas for better housing. He will then publish a report with ideas and recommendations for Scotland’s elderly housing sector.

Receiving commendations from the judges were two projects in Edinburgh; Sunken Extension in the Alterations, Renovation and Extensions category, and Tudsbery Court in the Landscape in Housing category. An innovative wheelchair accessible holiday cottage in Fife, called The Rings, and the regeneration of the Sighthill area in Glasgow also received commendations in their categories.

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart MSP said at the ceremony: “In this, the 80th year of the Saltire Society, these Awards continue to set a benchmark for excellence in the design of individual housing and in the creation of great places.

“Highlighting exemplary practice in housing, the Saltire Society’s Awards promote projects that showcase the importance of design in delivering good quality across all tenures and house types.”

Jim Tough, executive director of the Saltire Society said: “The Housing Design Awards were the very first Awards scheme initiated by the society, and have been around longer than any other design awards in Scotland.

“Established in 1937, the Awards not only promote the importance of good design and housing for all, but have evolved to help to honour and encourage creativity, excellence and innovation in modern Scottish place-making.

“As ever I have been very impressed by the design, innovation and attention to detail that is present in all of this year’s shortlisted entries. The feedback from the judges is that the decisions on the overall winners were particularly hard to make, which is testament to the calibre of architectural talent in Scotland today. ”