A number of north developments have been selected for a 19-strong shortlist for a major national architecture award.
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) has announced the contenders for the prestigious honour.
It includes the £1million Cairngorms National Park Authority’s HQ in Grantown-on-Spey, designed by Moxon Architects, and has been joined by the Black House on the Isle of Skye (Dualchas Architects).
The Raining’s Stairs Development in Inverness, by Trail Architects for Ark Estates, is also on the shortlist, as is Brodie Castle’s Playful Garden Visitor Centre in Forres, by Hoskins Architects for The National Trust for Scotland.
The £17.5m Orchard Brae School in Aberdeen, by jmarchitects for Hub North Scotland and the £140m Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience at Craigellachie, by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners for Edrington, are also named.
RIAS president Robin Webster OBE said: “This year’s judges were struck by the continuing high standard of submissions and found shortlisting very difficult.
“This is an impressive list of buildings that all show the ambitious level of excellence that architects and their clients can achieve.
“I hope that communities, government and local authorities, along with everyone else who needs to procure buildings, will look at these examples and ensure that their ambitions match them.
“Our awards celebrate the very best that is being built in Scotland.”
The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland was founded in 1916 and has more than 5,200 members.
The organisation is the professional body for all Scotland’s chartered architects.
The RIAS Awards will be announced at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on May 30.
The judging panel this year is Prof John Cole CBE Hon FRIAS (chairman), Joanna van Heyningen OBE RIBA, van Heyningen and Haward Architects (representing the Royal Institute of British Architects), Catriona Hill from CH Architecture, and Peter McCaughey, WAVEparticle.
Stuart McKill, Saint-Gobain (Emerging Architect Award judge) and Jon Stevenson (Timber Award judge) will join the judges on tour to judge their specific awards.
Steven Robb, deputy head of casework at the Heritage Directorate at Historic Environment Scotland (Conservation and Climate Change Award representative) was also involved in the shortlisting discussions and the Scottish Government is, once again, supporting the Scotland’s Client of the Year Award.
