Dallas Dhu Competition Win
Fraser/Livingstone Architects are thrilled to announce our successful selection by Moral Council to take forward
a new exemplar rural multi-generational community of homes at Dallas Dhu on the edge of Forres.
The project is part of Moray’s Growth Deal, being funded by Moray Council and the Scottish Government as part of its £7.5million Housing Mix Delivery project to deliver up to 300 affordable homes across the region.
The project is a partnership between Moray Council, Altyre Estate, Grampian Housing Association and the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre, with the vision being to deliver a new net-zero, sustainable place with accessible, affordable, smart homes and multi-functional outdoor space to encourage physical activity and food- growing.
Won through open competition, the practice will head up a consultant team comprised of Horner+Maclennan, Will Rudd, Ness Planning, Cundall, Hardies and Transport Planning to design and deliver the project. The masterplan work will include site phasing, infrastructure and landscape design for amenity facilities, green space and public realm across the 18-hectare site.
The ambitions intend to draw inspiration from both the extraordinary built fabric of the nearby Altyre Estate as well as the urban grains evident in the burgh towns and coastal settlements of Moray and Aberdeenshire. The strong patterns of Forres and Elgin with their mercats at their heart, the planned villages of Fochabers, and the sheltering intimate fabrics of Findhorn and Crovie. Settlements that respond to the particularities of their natural landscape to create shelter and place.
As the site stretches out to the southern edge of Forres, the proposals seek to enhance the features that already exist: working with the existing undulating topography; reinforcing the Dava Way route leading into the heart of Forres; creating quality shared amenity space that augments the existing community woodland; and mediating between settlement and rural landscape.
Alongside the masterplanning work, the first phase of 24 affordable homes will be delivered using innovative design and construction methods, as well as digital health and care innovation to support people remaining independent in their own homes. The pilot project will also include enabling the development of 20 serviced plots for housing innovative or self-building projects.
Dallas Dhu presents a unique opportunity to create a sustainable new community for the people of Forres that will lead on the transition to net zero through the provision of smart homes based on citizen wellbeing.
Read more about the project, featured in Scottish Construction Now.
