Our Raining’s Stairs housing development - which has been hailed by local businesses and residents for transforming the area of the city centre - has been shortlisted in The Housing Crisis Solution category at the highly respected British Home Awards.
Our development - designed by Trail Architects and built by William Gray Construction, with support from The Highland Council, Scottish Government and Highland Housing Alliance (HHA) - consists of 16 new one and two bedroom flats - as well as a small retail unit - with six flats available at affordable rent and 10 being leased at mid-market rent by HHA.
The shortlisting for the prestigious award comes after Raining’s Stairs won major accolades including being named as a winner at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) 2019 Awards - known as Scotland’s architectural Oscars - alongside the V&A Dundee, and being voted Best Residential Housing Development in the UK at the Inside Housing Awards.
The development was also commended by judges in the Scottish Civic Trust’s My Place Awards who declared the development: “…a building of significant architectural quality,” and, “…a key element within the overall city centre regeneration and transformation.”
Raining’s Stairs was built on a challenging, sloping city centre site that had become rife with anti-social behaviour causing detrimental impact to adjacent businesses and the broader community.
Speaking about the latest recognition for the project, William Gray, ARK Estates Managing Director, said:
“We are delighted that Raining’s Stairs continues to be recognised for the extremely high quality and regenerative project that it is. The awards and commendations are testament to those who worked on the project and especially Trail Architects whose design resulted in one of the most eye-catching and transformative developments in the city centre.”
Gail Matheson, Chief Executive of HHA, said:
“We were delighted to be involved in this regeneration project which transformed an area of land known for anti-social behaviour into a fantastic collection of eye-catching homes. The homes are a combination of social rent and mid-market rent so it is really great that the homes will stay within the affordable housing sector.
“The design and build quality is excellent, and we are really pleased to have this in the HHA portfolio. We have had really positive feedback from our tenants.”
A spokesperson from Trail Architects, who designed the development, said:
“We were very pleasantly surprised to be shortlisted for the British Home Awards 2020 for our Raining’s Stairs project. The shortlisting is a further, very welcomed affirmation that the Raining’s Stairs project has played an important part in providing good quality housing and much-needed regeneration to an important area in the centre of Inverness. The ongoing reception is a testament to the forethought, planning and teamwork of all involved in the project from its inception to completion.”
More information on the shortlist can be found at: https://www.britishhomesawards...
More information on our Raining's Stairs development can be found here.