Architecture places as part of Hospitalfield’s Interdisciplinary Residencies in 2016
People need housing and we see all around us volume housing estates circling the edges of our towns and cities, built to meet the demand. It’s hard to imagine what might be left in fifty years’ time. The word sustainability is a useful when applied to every aspect of building homes; the design, the communities, the engineering and materials and more. It seems however that it is the front end economics is the driver for the look and feel ofhousing of the future. What are the longer term implications of ignoring the many great solutions that already exist and the development of new ideas? The residencies at Hospitalfield will provide time for designers to think about this and to develop their ideas and solutions and to start a conversation that we hope to continue.
Selectors Ian Gilzean, Chief Architect, Scottish Government; Kirsty Macari, Senior Planning Officer, Angus Council; Jonathan Reeve, Voigt Partnership
Hospitalfield is pleased to launch a new initiative in partnership with Festival of Architecture. Thanks to the support of the Festival we are able to make two places available on our Interdisciplinary Residencies this year; one in August and the other in November. We welcome applications from architects living and working in Scotland. The deadline for proposals is Monday 23 May 2016 at midnight.
Applicants will be asked to propose a two week working period that will focus on issues relating to sustainable housing. By sustainable we mean more than just ecological concerns but include economic and community sustainability. Arbroath offers an excellent location to think about how good design works in various contexts. Why is it that a small historic town such as Arbroath is always associated with smoked fish? A remarkable product of course! However this is also a town with a vast red sand stone 12th century Abbey, the site of the signing of one of the most important ‘Declarations’ in Scottish history, a place of great food and drink production and a beautiful coast line. Hospitalfield House also acts as a ‘place defining’ location. Not just the astonishing Neo Gothic Arts & Crafts architecture and interior design, but the history as one of Scotland’s first art schools.
This initiative comes as Hospitalfield continues to develop an artist’s commissioning programme and finds ways to open the house more frequently to the public, getting to know our audiences and potential audiences better all the time.
Our residency programme offers a rich environment to undertake a focussed working period; the site itself is a peaceful and lovely place, but also the group of practitioners carefully selected to work over this period alongside one another provide an excellent dynamic. This is a situation of intense personal study supported and fuelled by meal-time conversation. The two architectural places will come within the Interdisciplinary Residency which is a programme developed over the last three years where cultural practitioners are invited to apply to come for a two week residency. Hospitalfield works with arts specialist selectors to build a group of residents whose practices complement and challenge each other. Staff and invited guests input into the residency programme, making connections and prompting discussions. The cost of the residency is usually £630 per person but for this initiative we have been able to offer two free places because of the support and motivation of Festival of Architecture. More information about our Residency Programmes…
Hospitalfield would like to thank Festival of Architecture for its partnership in this project. Directed by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and working with a wide range of partners, the Festival of Architecture 2016 is designed to be an engaging, inclusive and Scotland-wide celebration. The Festival is a key part of the 2016 Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.
For more information about applying for this residency