Corporate Plan 2021-31 launched

Architecture and Design Scotland, Scotland’s design champion, has launched its 10-year corporate strategy, calling for collaboration to ensure Scotland’s places are created for the benefit of people in Scotland, and ensuring that the voice of communities is central to how places are planned and delivered.

The strategy sets out the agency’s vision for the coming decade – a Scotland whose places are healthy, sustainable and thriving, where everyone works together to shape their future.

Well-established research shows that the design and maintenance of our places matters to people’s wellbeing:

• Proximity to good greenspace is associated with improved mental health and wellbeing.
• People living closer to greenspace are likely to be more physically active than those who do not.
• Active travel offers physical activity and sustainable means of transport – good street design and lighting can encourage active travel, leading to health and environmental benefits.
• Places designed to be walkable can increase the potential for social connections.

As a national organisation Architecture and Design Scotland aims to ensure that the benefits of the Place Principle become an everyday reality. The Place Principle is an approach agreed by Scottish Government and public sector bodies – to ensure a coordinated approach when designing or improving places – from services through to major infrastructure.

Achieving the aims of the corporate strategy would see more people working together to make decisions on the future of their places. It would give an even stronger voice to the people who live in and use places, enabling their experiences to guide their design and delivery.

It would mean having helped to create well-designed buildings, spaces and places that meet the needs of those who use them. Success would be to see this approach systemically embedded across Scotland and as a consequence, the creation of well-designed buildings and places being the norm.