a sustainable design quality framework

Laurieston Sustainable Development Masterplan

Client: New Gorbals HA, Glasgow City Council

The aim was to enable the development (which is in 12 phases) to take a step up in quality of design specification and implementation by showing evidence of real implementation of sustainable design.

This area of Glasgow had already successfully applied a strategy to support the quality of the architectural development including the massing, and use of materials. Gaia's role was to develop an equivalent framework for sustainable development for the Laurieston Masterplan / Outline Planning Application, which would carry through to appraisal of developers proposals in respect of sustainability.

Gaia worked with the client to determine the minimum standard for the 1st phase of the development and a series of enhanced targets that could be used to "ratchet up" the standards over time. These standards, which cover management tools, landscape and public art, health, resources, pollution, community and bio-diversity take the form of a brief for a best practice development underpinned by robust commitments to its implementation within an agreed timescale. It is comprehensive, ambitious and workable.

The framework approach has been developed to assist in developing understanding and capacity in a wide range of projects. Gaia have gone on to apply the framework to a project in Clackmannanshire where there is a single developer and also to the development of a housing Expo in Newcastle.