Students from the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment built their skills with national homebuilder Cala Homes (North), as part of a student project to design a flexible home that could accommodate the growing needs of a family of four.
As part of their module, second-year students studying Architectural Technology at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment at Robert Gordon University (RGU) were tasked with designing a property based on Cala’s Craibstone Estate South development in Bucksburn, Aberdeen.
Bruce Masson, architectural manager at Cala Homes (North) and RGU alumnus, helped devise the project, tasking students with creating flexible home designs that could accommodate a growing family and potentially a grandparent.
The brief includes many considerations Cala takes into account when designing homes, including asking students to think about how their designs would prioritise energy-efficient solutions and smart technology to minimise the environmental impact, ensuring they are high specification homes built with sustainability in mind.
Bruce said: “At Cala, we build homes that become a key part of people’s lives, in some cases forever. Because of this every home we design and build must provide flexibility and adaptability for homeowners, allowing them to change their home for new children or for elderly parents to also move in.
"Also as part of our strategy, not only must we strive to build homes that are more sustainable, but we must also give our customers the tools and technology they need to operate their homes with zero emissions and live more sustainably.
“This was an important consideration in the brief we gave to the students to highlight some of the initiatives we have implemented to make our homes flexible, future thinking and energy efficient. Having studied the course myself, it is always encouraging to see students gain first-hand experience around practical design by showing them what we do at Cala and how this can be integrated with their learning."
Cala Homes’ Craibstone Estate South has just three five-bedroom homes remaining, each which offers the perfect option for all homebuyers, whether they are looking to take the first step on the property ladder or move into their dream family home.