New organisation to champion built environment

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New organisation to champion built environment

Archiseek / UK / Scotland / News / 2004 / December 7

A new public organisation, Architecture and Design Scotland, has been established to champion the cause of good architecture and design. Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson announced that the Chair is to be Raymond Young OBE, an architect and a former senior member of staff of Scottish Homes.

Mr Young has wide experience of community housing associations and is now active as a housing and regeneration consultant. He has recently served as a member of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow and Chair of the Rural Housing Service.

The Deputy Chairs are to be

Professor Brian Evans, partner in Gillespies, one of the UK's leading urban and landscape design practices. From 1998 until 2004, he was artistic professor of urban design at Chalmers University School of Architecture, Gothenburg, Sweden. He is also a member of the Enabling Panel of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in England.

Malcolm Fraser, the Principal of a well-known architecture practice in Edinburgh and visiting Professor in Architecture at the University of the West of England in Bristol. He was voted 'Scottish Architect of the Year' in 2002 and 2003. Architecture and Design Scotland is a new public body being established by the Executive as the national champion for good architecture, design and planning in the built environment.

The principal aim of the body will be to inspire better quality in design and architecture so that Scotland's built environment contributes in a positive way to quality of life and built heritage. Along with other activities, it will take over the independent design review role of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland (RFACS) from April 2005.

Architecture and Design Scotland will have a much wider proactive role in advocating the benefits of good design and architecture to a wide range of organisations at national, regional and local level. The new appointments will take effect from the December 1, 2004, and run to March 31, 2009. The posts are part-time and unpaid. None of the appointees currently hold any other Ministerial appointment. This Ministerial public appointment was made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. None of the appointees have declared any political activity in the past five years.

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