Skip to main content

News, blogs and events

You can discover all of our latest news, blogs and activities here. If you are looking for expert content for your events or publications, please get in touch.

A woman wearing a hijab is taking a photograph of a group of people having a workshop.

Home

News, blogs and events

A map of fife in the backdrop with image of different locations: small towns, cities, wider connections, River Leven, coastal villages, university towns and large towns.

Harnessing the power of design in development planning

Rita Justesen speaking on a stage at the Liveable Cities event in Glasgow.

Designing healthier cities: a Danish-Scottish dialogue

A bird's eye view of the Edinburgh Futures Institute Campus

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A coulourful drawing of the proposed regeneration of Dalkeith town center showing pedestrians, cyclists and cars

The value of design within the regeneration of housing in Scotland’s town centres

Architectural masterplan of DECODE by 2024 Student Award winner Euan Clarke.

Student awards 2024: interview with Euan Clarke

Architectural rendering of a hut from the hidden network of mycelium by 2024 Student Award winner Ailsa Hutton

Student awards 2024: interview with Ailsa Hutton

Aerial view of masterplan of Working Walls from 2024 Student Award winners Briony Potter and Isabelle Warren

Student awards 2024: interview with Briony Potter and Isabelle Warren

Board Member Lynn Wilson dishing out the awards. Image credit: Stuart Hay, RIAS

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Crowd at the student awards

Winners announced for the 2024 A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture

The clyde between high-rise buildings in Glasgow.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A group of people listen stand outside the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, listening to a tour guide.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

The courtyard with seating area for pupils and planting in Dunfermline Campus.

Construction embodied carbon and Scotland’s Learning Estate

Rachel filming outside at V&A Dundee.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

All Architecture and Design Scotland staff pose for a photo together behind a table in a boardroom.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

An illustration of Benarty showcasing a green spaces for community food, outdoor classrooms, playwark and an adjacent active travel network.

How Benarty is embracing being a Climate Action Town

Value of Design podcast graphic line drawing portraits of a man and a woman.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A sketch of two people looking up and a speech bubble with the words 'Let's talk about place'

New podcast launched: Value of Design

View of Edinburgh International Book Festival from above, through the Architecture and Design Scotland office window.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Young people drawing at a Climate Action Town workshop

The value of (co)design

People talking during a walk tour beside a community garden in Stranraer.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Apartment blocks by the side of the road with trees growing on the pavement.

Value of design: diversity is the key

Partly built tents for the Edinburgh Book Festival on Edinburgh Futures Institute grounds.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Locals walking through a square amidst Barcelona's Superblocks.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A diagram with six images in a circle showing six neccessary elements to create a sustainable new place

Place Forum 4: Preventative design

An elderly woman walks through a square in front of a Superblock in Barcelona.

Redesigning cities: learning from Barcelona’s Superblocks

The Kelpies on a sunny day with people cycling and walking around the greenspace around it.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A still taken from Ann Allen's Value of Design video with the visual identity 'Value of Design'

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Jim MacDonald laughing during a Value of Design interview.

Design: The key to creating healthier, happier places

A photograph fo the river Mersey in Liverpool with buildings on both sides of the image and a brick buildingin in the foreground

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A group of people standing in front of Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh holding framed award certificates

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A young person presenting her ideas of a pavilion to her community and designers.

Value of Design

A young person presenting her ideas of a pavilion to her community and designers.

Campaign launched to champion the Value of Design

Image of a man-made pathway leading to the Orchard at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

How to design places that prevent problems

An illustration of Benarty showcasing a green spaces for community food, outdoor classrooms, playwark and an adjacent active travel network.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A man wearing a suit sitting in a chair in a glass building, facing a woman in a striped top with a camera phone on a tripod between them.

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2024

A family walking through Melville lane at the Meadows in Edinburgh.

How architecture and design can make a positive impact on mental health

a group of people sitting down around a table working together in a workshop with pens, paper and sticky notes on a table

The Recap: A weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A lecture theatre with the backs of group of people watching a speaker with two large screens above her

The Recap: a weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Attendees from the workshop in Perth exploring designing cities for women.

Designing cities that work for women: key takeaways from a Perth workshop

A high street in Elgin during a quiet time in the day.

A place-based approach to Town Centre Living

People pointing at a physical version of the Place Standard tool during a workshop in Benarty.

The Recap: a weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

Entrance to the Edinburgh Futures Institute, Architecture and Design Scotland's new office.

A new home for Architecture and Design Scotland

Pupils holding report at CAT Gathering

Learning from the Climate Action Towns at the Gathering event and resource launch

A garden with wide footpath and seating area located nearby a block of flats.

The Recap: a weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

A group of women sat on chairs during the panel session at the Climate Action Towns Gathering and resource launch.

The Recap: a weekly update from Architecture and Design Scotland

An illustration of an integrated transport hub with a large box with the words Place Conversations on the left hand side.

Key trends that mean we need to use our town centres differently - event

People standing around a monument during a walking tour in Inverness.

Roadshow series highlights huge potential for communities across the country

Two people placing sticky notes in a four quadrant matrix for a Climate Action Towns workshop.

How Scottish towns can work together to tackle the climate emergency

Twigs, sticks and logs are piled up in front of a grassy hill. Most of the scene is in shadow except for a large, sunlit hill in the background.

How we can tackle biodiversity loss

A bridge over a river in a wooded area.

What is a blue-green infrastructure?

People from the Highland Council discussing around a map on a table.

Lessons learned from the Key Agencies Group Shared Learning Event

Roadshow to help unlock potential of town centre living in Scotland

Event attendees at the Climate Action Towns Gathering event watching the premiere of the Climate Action Towns film in a room.

New Architecture and Design Scotland report reflects on the importance of design to create thriving places in Scotland

Sketch of a community garden

Gathering online to share examples of climate action

An architectural graphic by Rachel who won the Best 5th Year Student for the 2023 Student Awards.

Winners announced for the 2023 A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture

A set of six pencil illustrations of wind turbines in a green landscape

Place Forum 3: Thinking big, thinking beyond

People having a discussion around a indoor fire pit setting with trees around them at the Learning Places Scotland Conference 2023.

Learning Places Scotland conference

A person typing on a laptop.

Our plan: we want to hear from you

Landscape of a rural setting with forests and wind turbines in the distance.

International keynote speaker announced for Place Forum: Thinking big, Thinking beyond

A group of people standing over a table discussing a map during an Architecture and Design Scotland workshop.

Helping planning authorities to navigate new planning guidance

Pupils from St Mary Dunblane, smiling at the camera during their Climate Ready School Grounds workshop session.

How school grounds can tackle the climate emergency 

A person watching the live Q&A session from the first Place Forum event with guest speakers on the computer screen.

Place Forum - making connections

A photo of a street featuring a rain garden planted with wild flowers, grasses and trees to improve drainage and create biodiversity in the city.

Creating greenspace and biodiversity

A composite image of an adult on a bicycle with two children on the back of the bike, pictured with flowers and green grass against a green and white background.

Community resilience and the climate emergency

A photograph of a person installing and air source heat pump to a building. The words Let's Do Net Zero in white writing are place on the image.

Scotland's climate week 2023

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2023

People standing around a map of Stevenson on a table and writing down their Climate Action Town wishes.

The benefits of community engagement in architecture and planning

An aerial image of Levenmouth, Fife showing the entrance of the river Leven.

A place-based collaborative approach to Fife’s Local Development Plan

A person cooking in the shared kitchen at Lang Spoon Community Kitchen

Sharing examples of climate action in Scotland

A group of people sat on a table with a presentation screen during the 25th Anniversary SURF Awards launch event.

25th Anniversary SURF Awards launched

Primrose street Alloa tenants sitting in the courtyard with greenspaces.

Adapting places to tackle the climate emergency

People watching the A Fragile Correspondence trailer at the La Biennale di Venezia exhibition space.

Climate, community and collaboration: Scotland in Venice

Event attendees at the Climate Action Towns Gathering event watching the premiere of the Climate Action Towns film in a room.

The Gathering: bringing together the Climate Action Towns

A group of people gather in front of a large colourful mural of a bird.

Place Standard Tool: Norwegian colleagues visit to Scotland

An example of a scale of place the KAG works with includes a bridge connects a green area to the right and a small town centre to the left.

Local Authorities chosen for new Key Agencies Group support offer revealed

An auditorium with the Climate Action Towns presentation on the big screen.

News: Climate Action Towns Gathering

People walking along a sea coastal path at St Monans.

Designing for people's lives

Scotland+Venice 2023 creative team consisting Amy McEwan, Aoife Nolan, Carl Jonsson, Neil McGuire, Mia Pinder-Hussein, Kristina Enberg, Alissar Riachi, Alyesha Choudhury and Andy Summers.

A Fragile Correspondence – Scotland + Venice

A view of Edinburgh City from the Castle. There is a body of water and mountains in the background.

Supporting planning authorities with Local Development Plans

People sitting around tables in discussion at workshop

Conversations in Stevenston about adapting to climate risk

Using the Young Scot National Entitlement Card to support young people experiencing poverty

The words Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership in blue and green colours above a white backdrop.

Better off in work

A person writing on a street billboard at the Linlathen Works employee campaign.

Child poverty place-based initiatives in the Scottish Government

Climate Action Towns project team speaking to children in an outdoor space during their visit to Holytown.

Co-benefits of climate mitigation and community empowerment

Gifting a bike to a young person by Sustains during the And She Cycles campaign.

Supporting young people living in poverty to access bikes through their schools

Young people walking through a green space.

Addressing crisis through child-friendly environments

An architectural drawing of a busy high street with people walking in between buildings and stalls.

Town centre living: more homes at the heart of great places report

Campbeltown Harbour on a cloudy day. There are boats parked on the jetty.

The Winter Gathering in Campbeltown

Primrose Street, Alloa historic Spiers Centre connection

Town centre living: Primrose Street, Alloa

Illustration of a park beside a road. There are people walking through the park and exercising.

Alva Pathfinder Project: reflections one year on

A father and daughter walk across a walled seating bench at Dundee waterfront.

Reflections and projections – Scotland’s design agency celebrates achievements

A red cine-caravan and a road sign with the words 'Climate Action Towns-Films'

Climate ready Annan

A table filled with images of different care facilities and hands holding the images.

Collaborating with Capability Scotland to reimagine flagship specialist care

Attendees at the LAUDF16 event standing and sitting around the table during the networking session.

LAUDF16: Collaborative approaches to 20-minute neighbourhoods

The 2022 SURF Awards for best practice in community regeneration

Event attendees from the Learning Places Scotland Conference sitting at stage 1 for the introduction session.

Reflections on the sustainable estate

Headshots of the three winning students to this year's awards placed in circular shapes, with the words 'A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022' beside them.

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022: interviews

A picture of an out of focus laptop with multiple faces participating in an online meeting with a green plant in the foreground

Five lessons from our recent Climate Action Towns gathering

Illustration of a rural environment in Scotland drawn by Richard Carman. Wind turbines nestle above mountains with a small town in the centre surrounded by rolling hills.

Two new towns join Climate Action Towns Project  

Pupils standing in a row as they plant trees for Queen Margaret University's Wee Forest.

Making places for outdoor learning

Heather Claridge, Director of Design for Architecture and Design Scotland smiles for the camera.

Heather Claridge appointed Director of Design

Childrens Theatre Suite Anaesthetic Room 2022 RDAArchitects

NHS Assure Design Excellence Awards: Winners and shortlisted projects

People sat in a lecture during the Andy MacMillan Memorial Lecture at Collective Architecture.

A&DS and RIAS Student Awards for Architecture 2022

An attendee of the A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards 2022, views the shortlisted student on a screen at the event.

Student awards 2022: the winners have been announced

A&DS and RIAS Student Awards for architecture 2022 - shortlist

An architectural image of Rosemount Viaduct including an outdoor green space pavilion with seating arranged across three levels.

Five takeaways from RTPI Scotland’s annual conference in Aberdeen

Climate Action Towns project team walks around Campbeltown with locals.

How we work to tackle the climate emergency

A colourful illustration with the words Community Climate Action Plans on a blue banner above a green space with a wheel barrow with plants in the foreground.

Delivering community climate action plans in Scotland

A colourful graphic of a town with people moving about in the foreground with the words shaping places for wellbeing programme written above the illustrations

Shaping places for wellbeing

A pencil illustration birds-eye view of a rural community along a river, showing green fields, and a cluster of buildings.

How Scotland’s towns and villages can help tackle the climate emergency

An adult male in a black top and beige trousers plants a sign in long grass. The sign reads 'scruffy area' and is written in crayon.

How can schools help tackle climate change?

Three people look at a person sketching a building on a white wall. There are papers with architectural information across a section of the wall.

Knowledge exchange on 20-minute neighbourhoods

Four people walk along a pavement in a Scottish neighbourhood.

What is a 20-minute neighbourhood?

The clyde between high-rise buildings in Glasgow.

Reflections on ‘A river runs through it’ report

Two of the A&DS Climate Action Towns project team members in a workshop with two members of the public.

Climate Action Towns funded for a second year

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022

A man standing in the middle of a rural road on the Isle of Mull looking at hills in the distance.

Five lessons learned from taking climate action at a local level

A view from the ground to a canopy of rainbow coloured umbrellas against a blue sky

Green recovery: a cross-agency approach

A composite image of portraits of five people who have participated in the climate action towns project

Reflections from year one of the Climate Action Towns project

Two single-story attached houses with grey coloured roofs and timber facades, set against a rural landscape on Ulva island.

Rural futures

A photograph of a landscape made of lego bricks showing a sustainable home designed by a school pupil

Design for the Future competition – Western Isles winners

A boy in a dimly lit exhibition space looking up at postcards hanging from the ceiling. The postcards contain wishes of citizens for the future of their place.

What if…?/ Scotland: Shared hopes, dreams and wishes for our places

Design for planet: time for design to shine

An illustration of Midsteeple town centre with people shopping, walking and playing in the high street.

Seven Scottish ‘climate action towns’ to help just transition

The phrase "yes we can" is written with scrabble letter tiles.

Scotland can inspire the world as COP comes to Glasgow

An architectural drawing of a cross section of a proposed community centre.

Student awards 2021: interview with Gergana Negovanska

two drawings side by side - on the left hand side a woman looks across a landscape in front of two towers and on the right there is a corridor leading to a viewing platform

Student awards 2021: interview with Tiia Partanen

an architectural drawing in beige and light blue showing a market place with access to wells

Student awards 2021: interview with Rachel Dunne

The results for A&DS and RIAS Student Awards for Architecture 2021

A graphic of an arm of a demolition machine tearing down part of a building.

Can we re-use our way to net zero?

Shortlist for the A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2021

An Cala House blends in with its rugged landscape in Sutherland through its exterior Larch Timber Cladding.

An Cala: Best Use of Timber Awards Winning Project 2021

A child and adult walk into a building with a sign board on the left-hand side of a green door.

The future will be local

A drawing of people sitting on top of big 3-dimensional letters that form the words "there is no planet B" at a street party.

Carbon conscious places are people places

People walking along a high street in Scotland.

Scotland’s towns and the climate emergency

An older man works on a raised vegetable bed surrounded by green plants.

Getting our towns climate-ready with blue and green infrastructure

An illustration of Midsteeple town centre with people shopping, walking and playing in the high street.

Glasgow City Region: choosing to flourish in our future climate

An architectural sketch of green space in a town centre with people sitting and walking in the area.

If you’re not part of the solution… how the public sector can deliver better places

Illustration of planet earth with clouds in the background and the words 'Climate Emergency Training' in the foreground.

Designing a lower carbon Scotland

An illustrative drawing of a row of buildings from a town centre drawn on an easel.

Learning from Midsteeple Quarter, Dumfries

A drawing of people enjoying a large outdoor space with plants, trees, paths and benches. A bridge and a few buildings are visible in the background.

What is a whole-place collaborative approach and why does it matter?

A group of people sitting at small tables outside a cafe on a sunny day

The end of the high street, or a step in its evolution?

A drawing of people sitting on top of big 3-dimensional letters that form the words "there is no planet B" at a street party.

How has the pandemic changed the way we look at our places?

People walking through Glasgow high street.

What is a place and why does it matter?

An architectural sketch of green space in a town centre with people sitting and walking in the area.

Corporate Plan 2021-31 launched

An architectural drawing of Glasgow Film Theatre the main part of the image is black and white with a key section highlighted in a warm red colour

Creating uplifting interiors for Glasgow Film Theatre

A drawing of the Place Principle method with words 'shared ambitions..align efforts'

Introducing a place-based approach to housing

An architectural image of a birds-eye view of Glasgow Green with a proposed development including a large arch

Student Awards 2020: our winners look to the future

An architectural sketch of a high street and housing in a town centre with trees, grass and water running alongside it.

Design in a changing climate: new report launched

An architectural concept of Paisley town centre's street and buildings to illustrate how repurposing historic places sustainably could look.

Repurposing and sustainable placemaking

A close up of a chalk rainbow on a brown pavement surface

Building resilience in a crisis

Vacant plot of land surrounded by flowers, bushes, grass and buildings around it.

The value of vacant and derelict land

A person holding a sign up with the words 'There is No Planet B' at a rally.

Architecture education must respond to the climate crisis

A close up photograph of a vegetable patch with rows of leeks sticking out of the brown soil

What is the role for community based urban food production?

An aerial shot of Melbourne on a sunny day showing skyscrapers, trees, and roads.

Greening the grey: lessons from Melbourne

The exterior of the Timber Awards Winning Project Macallan Distillers Visitor Experience Centre. The building's wavy design and green roof give the appearance of rolling hills.

World’s most co-ordinated distillery: Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience

A dark auditorium in a cinema with a screen lit up with light around its edges.

A new room in the city: Glasgow Film Theatre

A modern house building with larch cladding with Arthur Seat and the Crags in the distance.

Low carbon living: designing 22 Observatory Road

A photograph of a small timber clad building sat in a Scottish landscape, the building has a large corner window.

New Steading: a magical little building in a glorious spot

A photograph of a small timber clad building sat in a Scottish landscape, the building has a large corner window.

Best Use of Timber Awards 2019 exhibition

A group of people stand on a concrete foundation on a building site with the sea, hills and blue skies visible behind

Housing to 2040 voices: the client’s experience | Dunbeg

An aerial shot of the Paisley town centre showing a parking lot and an empty space behind existing buildings.

Housing to 2040 voices: the resident’s experience | Paisley

A group of people stand on a concrete foundation on a building site with the sea, hills and blue skies visible behind

Housing to 2040 voices: the architect’s experience | Dunbeg

A workshop with a large group of people sitting around a table looking at plans and drawings

Housing to 2040 voices: the community contact’s experience | Dunbeg

An aerial shot of the Paisley town centre showing a parking lot and an empty space behind existing buildings.

Housing to 2040 voices: the architect’s experience | Paisley

A black and white photograph of two adults and a child facing away from the camera underneath large umbrellas

Shared mobility and quality living

A young woman cycles across a junction in Copenhagen on a snowy day.

Hedonistic urbanism: translating self-interest to social good

The sun shining on sheep grazing in a field under electricity pylons in Scotland.

Planning for the transformation of energy

A photograph of a building model featuring a sail like roof

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2019 – The Results

A public art sculpture consisting of the words 'Amazing Toyama' and a large white square that frames the white traditional Toyama Castle, a reconstructed flatland style castle flanked by a moat.

A caring place: Toyama as a city to suit its citizens

An elderly person walks with a mobility aid along a pedestrian path surrounded by trees - the garden and care homes are set within a wider urban parkland

Stockholm’s garden of the senses

Volunteers of Cycling Without Age and elderly people pose for a group photo in a park on trishaws.

Cycling without age: part two

A carer shows a disabled woman from Blackwood Homes how to use a tablet.

Promoting independent living at Blackwood Homes

A member of the Albion Trust Team smiles while listening to someone in a conversation.

Repurposing Norton Park

A smiling elderly woman wearing glasses is looking at a smartphone screen.

A caring place: digital connections

A row of modern terrace tenements/houses in Scotland made of multi-coloured bricks.

Housing choice

Clycling Without Age volunteers and elderly people pose for a group photo in front of a pond in a park. Some are holding red balloons.

Cycling without age: part one

A man using a miter saw in a room to cut wood.

Seven thoughts on the circular economy

A photograph of a yellow toilet signs in an airport.

We need to talk about toilets!

A man wearing a white hat and black jacket walking on a street pass a wall of shutters.

Can urban living be suitable for older people?

A black and white image of an armchair with the word 'Sunflower Lounge' beneath it.

Making public places better for everyone

An illustration of a person water plants. The illustration is white with a yellow backdrop.

Good accessible design is good for everyone

A photograph of the river front in Dundee with V&A Dundee in the background and a woman relaxing on a lounger in the sunshine, and a man looking across the Tay

Walkable and caring town centres

A mirror cube in a centre of a green space on top of a wooden decking with trees and buildings around it. There are two people looking at the cube.

Andy MacMillan Memorial Lecture 2018 – Sarah Castle, Director, IF_DO

A group of people walk behind a young man playing the bagpipes down a narrow lane of stone buildings with a large inflatable smiling mouth visible in the background

Venetians adopt Happenstance as their own free space

A picture of the facade of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh

A caring place: presentation at Cross Party Group

An elderly man using a cane to walk down a long road with trees growing on each side of the road.

Regeneration with care in mind

An elderly woman wearing glasses looks to the right.

The joy of having a project

A person wearing a black hoodie walks on an empty high street.

How can we use design to help create a caring place?

a group of young children play underneath a multi coloured inflatable object.

The Happenstance: freeing people to think about free space

An elderly woman wearing a black coat crosses the street in a housing area in Scotland.

Could a ‘caring town’ housing concept transform our age?

An elderly man using a laptop on a desk beside a window.

DIY smart living: creating a caring place

An elderly lady wearing an apron washing carrots in the kitchen sink.

Re-imagining age and home

People walking across a road in Glasgow in front of a row of houses and cars.

Why can't we live in town centres again?

The words C02 made out of clouds in the sky.

Six ways to reduce our emissions in Scotland

A woman watering plants in a community garden.

From eyesores to empowered spaces: getting Stalled Spaces off the ground

A person writing on a yellow sticky note during a workshop.

Place Standard: housing in Shetland

A person writing on a yellow sticky note during a workshop.

Place Standard: testing the tool in Irvine

A photograph of the coastline in Lerwick, Shetland, with the hills covered in snow

Place Standard: corporate working in Shetland

A group of people walking away from the camera at dusk through a high street

Place Standard: Arbroath

A person writing on a yellow sticky note during a workshop.

Place Standard: discussing growth in South Queensferry

A person writing on a yellow sticky note during a workshop.

Place Standard: Carnegie – three communities test the Place Standard Tool

A person standing by a roadside looking out across the landscape in Cairngorms National Park.

Scottish Scenic Routes initiative

A member of the public wearing an orange shirt reads a book in park at Kelvingrove, Glasgow.

Sir Harry Burns lecture on wellness

An elderly woman wearing glasses looks to the right.

Dementia-friendly design: what is it and why is it important?

Search yielded no results

View more Back to filters

News, blogs and events archive