Retrofitting our existing housing stock to make it fit for 21st century living is a win-win. Though not cheap, it is an investment in the long-term for people and planet. As clients and governments become more ecologically aware, enthusiasm for sustainable retrofit of our existing buildings is growing. Having carried out several historic and sustainable
The train pulled into the small station of Dunkeld alongside an abandoned station building. I had arrived in rural Perthshire for the Rural Housing Scotland conference 2023. The walk to the Dunkeld House Hotel was longer than I expected – 3 miles – but well worth it. First over the elegant Thomas Telford Bridge where
The nineteenth century prime minister Benjamin Disraeli proposed publicly hanging architects for designing boring buildings. I found this out from a recent article in Building which, to commemorate its 180th anniversary, is running a series of archive articles. The one on Disraeli’s tongue-in-cheek proposal was published on 3 April, 1847. Ironically, some of the buildings
client private engineers CRA Ltd. contract value £82,000 total remodelled area 45 sq. m. The previous pokey ground floor extension was replaced by much larger and extremely light sunroom. A new passageway was formed from the front door to the new extension, giving views to the garden from deep inside. Spaces either side of this
Halvorsen Architects was recently commissioned to design a forest school nursery, which will have a ‘playful’ natural water-treatment system at its heart. While we have done several ecological nursery buildings, this is our first forest school nursery. Possibly worryingly, I find it easy to put myself in the mind of a five-year-old, especially when playing with water, in
ECAN’s (Edinburgh Chartered Architects Network) visit to High Sunderland near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders was a timely reminder that architecture is not just about retrofit, energy saving and ecological design. I consider myself lucky to have been educated at a time and a place when ecological design was way down the agenda. The
Is this the dawn of the ‘wood age’? The stone, iron, bronze, glass and steel ages all benefited from wood but now it is now the turn of this ancient, natural and renewable material to take its place at the top of the materials hierarchy. Scotland should be making more use of its natural materials.
This project transformed the interior, and especially the lower-ground floor, of a three-storey, grade II Georgian house in Warriston Crescent at the northern end of Edinburgh’s New Town. The goals included bringing light into the heart of the building — which was achieved through the addition of a large new roof-light at the top of the
Another Passivhaus building designed by Halvorsen Architects is currently under construction in western Edinburgh. Edinburgh City Council granted planning permission for the new four-bedroom, two-storey contemporary house in 2020. Due to material cost inflation and supply-chain disruptions caused by Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and other global crises, we unfortunately needed to embark on various cost-cutting
I was entranced by this simple but elegant roof from London-based Tsuruta Architects. Responding to a north facing and sunken site the architect has designed an exquisite timber dia-grid roof whose shadows dance around the modest extension. Using traditional timber connections for the thin Accoya beams the architect has avoided the need for any glued or
Planning permission has been approved for a new building at Happy Days nursery Hardengreen branch in Midlothian. It is located in mature woodland and is a playful take on a timber cabin. It is raised off the ground, on piles so as not to disturb the tree roots, with a south-facing deck. The north facing
SEDA’s Report ‘A New Vision for Land Use in Scotland: 6 Conversations’ was released on Monday. It summarises the key themes that emerged in the highly successful events of the same name, held by SEDA in March and April, where 42 of the best informed people from all sectors of land use discussed the challenges
Concrete accounts for 8% of CO2 emissions, far higher than aviation at 2.5%. So if we are to help stop climate change we need to stop using concrete. Even the ‘more sustainable’ forms of concrete that replace some of the Portland cement with alternatives such as granulated blast furnace flag and fly ash have their
client private engineers CRA Ltd. contract value £160,000 area new build 95 sq. m.; total remodelled area 450 sq. m. The client had outgrown their semi-detached Georgian bungalow in the heart of the Grange Conservation Area in Edinburgh. They needed new detached accommodation and remodelling of the existing house, front and back gardens. A 67m2 self-contained
Studio and remodelling house and garden, The Grange, Edinburgh Read More »
With one of my other hats on I am an events organiser for The Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA). Since SEDA members are predominantly architects most of our events are building related. More recently I decided to put more emphasis on non-architectural events. Next week A New Vision for Land Use in Scotland: 6 Conversations
A New Vision for Land Use in Scotland: 6 Conversations Read More »
The new community centre in Gorebridge – The Beacon – came into its own during lockdown. While central and local governments struggled to respond quickly to the pandemic, The Beacon and its committed staff rose to the challenge, helping locals cope to the crisis within a couple of weeks. It was the only place you
Respond, Recovery and Resilience – Gorebridge Beacon Read More »
It was with great joy that I received some photos from an Edinburgh client of their wild flower garden blooming this spring. It has been frustrating not to be able to pay my usual site visits, with work on several sites coming to a halt under the Civid19 lock down. These photos are of the
Covid-19 update As the coronavirus outbreak continues, Halvorsen Architects’ thoughts are with our customers and friends at this challenging time. We recognise that you have many priorities, but we want you to know that we are still operating. The safety and well-being of our community is our highest priority right now and we are closely following
Halvorsen Architects have just finished major works to a house in the Grange, a conservation area on Edinburgh’s south side which was first developed as an early suburb from the 1820s. The clients were keen to expand their Georgian villa in as sustainable as possible. We considered several measures, including renewable heating, insulation and airtightness. With
Last night I helped organise a Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA) event about the harmful effects of the fast fashion industry. Held in the David Hume Tower, George Square, Edinburgh, the event was well-attended by both students and people involved in retail and textiles industries. The 3 hour session was loosely based around the ground-breaking
Last week Gorebridge Community Development Trust held a party to celebrate the opening of the Gorebridge Beacon, our new community centre, earlier this year. Trust members and staff, funders and nearly all the design team came and celebrated the fantastic (award-winning) building. Since it opened over 5,000 people have walked through the doors, all the
Halvorsen Architects recently finished an extension to and remodelling of a 1970s house in Dunbar, East Lothian. A sun room, at the heart of the house, links the principal rooms and, with the removal of a wall, creates a large open plan kitchen-dining room. Light floods in through the wall-to-wall South-facing glazing, high-level East-facing clerestory
Last month I visited Shepherd House, Inveresk, where I have carried out several small projects and was delighted to see wild strawberries growing on the green roof of the potting shed designed by Halvorsen Architects. The roof was planted with ferns originally and over the years wildflowers have self-seeded there, but this is the first
A group of ecologically-minded people gathered in Forres to visit a collection of inspiring sustainable enterprises, hear some stimulating talks and exchange green ideas. Having spent the previous couple of months organising SEDA’s (Scottish Ecological Design Association) annual conference, it was underway at last. For me the highlight was the trip to Makar Ltd. –
The venue was more Bohemian than most – the top floor of a celebrated French restaurant in Soho. I had been asked to give a talk about nursery design by My Montessori Child. The theme of the conference was Quality – Quality in Spirit, Quality in Space and Quality in Service. I was asked to
