A Lifetime Neighbourhood - Ageing In Place

Part four of our R&D showcase is our work with The Gannochy Trust.

The Gannochy Trust manages a mixed-use area at the edge of Perth which includes exemplar housing for mid-market rent.  We facilitated a collaborative process with the Trust and their tenants to review how the estate functioned. This included a housing needs survey which revealed a demographic imbalance - over 70% of residents were aged over 55.

We used our place based analysis to develop a masterplan which knits together housing and greenspace to encourage a more balanced community, support social networks and promote wellbeing. 

A Lifetime Neighbourhood now provides a setting for civic and social activities linked to the physical environment. It supports a thriving social network that promotes wellbeing and empowers residents within a neighbourhood which is accessible for everyone. 

The masterplan identifies linear habitats (e.g. hedgerows, treelines and watercourses) that can be consolidated and improved to allow wildlife to travel through a network of green corridors. This improves connectivity and landscape quality for local people, through a better network of greenspace.

There are pleasant, shorter walks for less mobile people, a range of types of sociable outdoor spaces, accessible garden spaces and spaces for community activities such as food production. The development of these will the subject of further community consultation by the Trust.

We have designed healthy homes for life - these are flexible new homes that can accommodate residents as their needs change and which are equally suitable for young families, older people downsizing, or people with a disability and their carers. We have drawn on our experience of designing dementia friendly homes and neighbourhoods, using knowledge gained from our involvement in Memory Friendly Neighbourhood research with Scottish academics.

The new homes incorporate a healthy alternative to Passivhaus construction based on a strategy of effective passive ventilation developed in collaboration with MEARU at Glasgow School of Art.

Winner of the residential (large) and sustainability awards GIA 2020.