The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Winners of the 2021 Herald
The cream of Scotland’s property professionals gathered together last Thursday evening on The Herald’s Awards Platform where the winners of this year’s Herald Property Awards for Scotland, powered by Property Studios, were announced
ATRANSFORMED block in Glasgow’s East End, where the city cleansing department and Strathclyde Police once stabled their horses and a new house built from larch and stone, with expansive views over Loch Torridon, were amongst the winners when the design and development industry joined together on Thursday night to celebrate The Herald Property Awards for Scotland powered by Property Studios.
After a year’s absence, the cream of Scotland’s property professionals joined The Herald’s Awards Room Platform to hear the announcement of the winners in all 17 of this year’s categories.
It was one of the rare opportunities that the industry has had something to celebrate following the challenges of the last 18 months and what became clear during the evening was that shut-downs, materials shortages, transport costs and staffing issues had not prevented Scotland’s housebuilding sector from delivering outstanding projects, from one-off designs to residential developments and regeneration schemes that had breathed new life into the urban landscape.
Amongst those carrying off the accolades were Wheatley Group and Collective Architecture whose transformation of Bell Street Stables into 52 apartments for mid-market rent won the Best Renovation/ Conversion category for its imaginative repurposing of a unique ‘B’ listed structure. Meanwhile ‘Brybeg’, a contemporary home in the stunning surroundings of Wester Ross, designed by Rural Design and constructed by Simpson Builders, was named Best Luxury Home.
With open-plan living spaces and an abundance of natural light, this was a home that the judges admired not just for its outstanding design and construction, but for its relationship to the natural landscape which surrounds it.
Other significant winners on the night were Jefferys Interiors who won the Judges’ Award for their sensitive treatment of Yester House, an historic ‘A’ listed mansion in Gifford East Lothian, which, over four years, they have carefully restored, reviving important artwork and architectural detailing while blending contemporary elements in order to turn this 18th century masterpiece into a warm and welcoming family home.
Meanwhile it was another property periodpiece, the bungalow, but repurposed for the 21st century, that carried off the coveted Best Family Home award. Eskgrove Homes’ ‘The Medwyn’, at Linton Bank in the Borders, is a fresh take on this once-popular form of one-floor living. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large open plan living space that opens on to the rear gardens. And with underfloor heating, an air-source heat pump, clay tiles on the roof and Canjaere wood cladding, its green credentials are exemplary.
In some categories the standard of entries was so high that the judges had no alternative but to announce joint winners, as happened with the Best Regeneration Project category, where the honours were shared by Anderson Bell Christie for their redevelopment of Johnstone Castle Housing Development into 95 new council houses for Renfrewshire Council and Fletcher Joseph Architects for the transformation of the run-down King’s Stables Road in Edinburgh into a vibrant mixed-use development of apartments, student accommodation, hotel space and commercial units, liking the iconic grass market with the city’s West End.
Other winners during a night of celebrations included Snowdrop Developments, who won the Development of the Year category for Durwood Gardens, a collection of luxury homes on the banks of Royal Deeside in Kincardine O’Neil and Cala Homes (East), who carried off the Best Apartment accolade for their transformation of the former Bouroughmuir High School building in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh into contemporary living spaces.
But it wasn’t just bricks and mortar that were recognised last night. Amongst the people and organisations that went home with awards was STAR recruitment from Edinburgh, who were name ‘Property Team of the Year’ and Cullerton’s, also based in Edinburgh, who were named ‘Estate Agency of the Year’.
What a fantastic evening celebrating with friends, colleagues and peers! We congratulate all the winners and finalists. It has been such a pleasure to celebrate the achievements of our industry, and to learn how you have innovated and adapted to thrive in some of the most challenging times for the Scottish property sector. We can’t wait to see what lies in store for us all in the year ahead
Michelle Milnes, Managing Director,
Property Studios
The Herald Awards is a special event which the housebuilding industry looks forward to each year. It was another outstanding year with a wide range of diverse entries from across the country – the judging day itself was very difficult due to the very high standards of work being applied throughout by the housebuilders. Ross and Liddell are very much looking forward to 2022 and hopefully this time it will be back as a live event without any distractions. Congratulations to all the winners announced in the 2021 Awards, we hope they enjoy their win and look forward to their next!