At its Centenary and Awards Dinner held in Glasgow, The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) announced 11 winners for the 2016 Award, representing the very best of current Scottish architecture. The judging panel was chaired by Willie Watt PRIAS and included Denise Bennetts FRIAS (representing the Royal Institute of British Architects), Alan Jones PPRSUA Hon FRIAS, Andy Leitch (Forestry Commission Scotland) and Stuart McKill (Saint-Gobain). Willie Watt, President of the RIAS, commented: “It seems appropriate, in this RIAS Centenary year, that we have such a strong and diverse list of winners. Our awards celebrate the very best that is being built in Scotland. This is a tremendous list which goes in scale from a small house extension/reconfiguration to major education provision. Unusually, there are no Islands represented on this year’s list but geographically they extend from a factory in Dumfriesshire to a lookout tower in Sutherland. This is a list that fully demonstrates the privilege of living in our magnificent wee country and just how architects have embraced the responsibility that brings with it.” In the fifth year of the restyled awards the RIAS has again teamed up with Forestry Commission Scotland/Wood for Good, Historic Environment Scotland, The Scottish Government, Zero Waste Scotland and Saint-Gobain for our five prestigious sub-category awards. The RIAS Awards 2016 winners are (listed alphabetically with short judges citations): 1 West Regent Street, Glasgow (contract value not for publication) Ryder Architecture The challenge was providing 135,000 sq ft of offices while preserving a listed building and integrating this with an innovative new design that blended with its surroundings and added to the cityscape. Clad in a bronzed metallic curtain wall system, the interior spaces are virtually column free and offer 360 degree views of the city. Blakeburn, Roxburghshire (contract value not for publication) A449 LTD A complete overhaul of a nondescript, mid-20th century, dwelling to create a unique and elegant countryside home. The footprint was extended to the east and west of the existing building, with the entire building then over-clad, in scorched larch, to blend in with nearby woodland. Castle MacLellan Foods Kirkcudbright (contract value: £3.8m) Taylor Architecture Practice Ltd (T.A.P.) This project aimed to create a well-designed, industrial building that was a pleasurable working environment with a welcoming frontage in a riverside setting. A new reception block on the street edge provides a point of arrival while rising up to become a bridge, spanning the main goods-in area and linking to the upper level of the existing factory. City of Glasgow College, Riverside Campus, Glasgow (contract value: £66m) Michael Laird Architects/Reiach and Hall Architects Located at the edge of a major crossing of the River Clyde, the site marks a gateway in the city and projects the College’s importance as a civic institution as well as creating a new landmark. New buildings are organised around two civic spaces – a cloistered garden and a grand hall – which encourage students to mix and realise opportunities for learning across disciplines. Forsinard Lookout Tower, Sutherland (contract value not for publication) Icosis Architects This tower was created to give visitors an elevated and striking look-out over the Flow Country and its blanket peat bogs and associated pools. To minimise disruption to the peat, the construction is similar to that of an oil rig, built off 150mm diameter hollow piles driven to a solid base around 4m below the surface. Helensburgh Town Centre Public Realm, Helensburgh (contract value: £6.6m)Austin-Smith:Lord LLP The design ethos was to create a town centre with attractive, usable and flexible public spaces to support community events, festivals and markets. The scheme ingeniously incorporates an outdoor museum. The walkways, soft landscaped areas, tree lines and lighting columns are set out on a simple grid, which enhances and frames the several high-quality, listed buildings within Colquhoun Square. “it’s bigger on the inside”, Edinburgh (contract value not for publication)David Blaikie Architects This “glass box” extension and remodelling of the ground floor rear rooms allows the new kitchen and dining spaces of this, Category B listed, Victorian townhouse to “spill out” into a south-facing garden. The remodelling of the rear rooms and modest extension is integrated with the overall refurbishment of the whole house. Lairdsland Primary School, Kirkintilloch (contract value not for publication)Walters & Cohen Architects This 280-pupil school is designed to deliver the new Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, to be a beacon in its community and provide a quality learning environment. The canal-side location was the inspiration for construction parallel to the water with semi-open plan learning spaces and double-height glazing to provide views and a light and spacious environment. The Pyramid Viewpoint, Dunbartonshire (contract value not for publication) BTE Architecture This peninsula viewpoint overlooking Loch Lomond, taking the shape of a triangular platform at the end of a long, curved path is first seen as a narrow, vertical stack amongst the trees. Only a glimpse of the loch is visible through a long tunnel, marking the entrance. Saunders Centre, Science & Technology Building, Glasgow (contract value not for publication)Page Park Architects This facility at the Glasgow Academy includes a new 178-seat auditorium, complemented by a generous foyer that wraps around the sculptural elliptical form. On each upper floor, four general teaching labs, together with a sixth year lab, are arranged along a glazed break out and bay-windowed passage overlooking the historic main school. Zinc-House, Angus (contract value not for publication)LJR+H Chartered Architects A collection of abandoned farm sheds on the site provided the inspiration for the built form. The house is articulated and unified by a continuous roof. Built over one-and-a-half storeys the whole is divided into four tied elements – car port, garage/office, entrance/court, and house. Special Category Awards presented on the night were: Special Category Award – the Best Use of TimberThe winner of the Wood for Good/Forestry Commission Scotland Award for the Best Use of Timber was: Blakeburn, Roxburghshire by A449 Ltd Jo O’Hara, Head of Forestry Commission Scotland said: “FC Scotland is delighted to work in partnership with Wood

Global equipment solutions provider, Terex Construction, has announced that a duo of new technologies will be added as standard to all models throughout its market-leading range of Stage IIIB/Tier 4 final-compliant nine and ten tonne site dumpers. Introduced earlier in the year as part of a strategic trial to set new standards in the compact equipment marketplace, the technologies have shown that they improve productivity, cut maintenance requirements and deliver greater fuel economies. All state-of-the-art developments have been designed to improve efficiency while delivering a high quality return on investment by reducing machine running costs. The first technology – Stop/Start Control – has been designed to improve on-site safety, minimise fuel consumption and increase service intervals. With suitable interlocks in place to prevent unexpected movement, the new system will automatically start and stop the engine in predetermined conditions. Compliant with ISO13849 functional safety, the innovative technology means that, when loading materials, site managers will no longer have to worry about equipment being left running. The introduction of Stop/Start Control will reduce hours on the clock, provide fuel savings and extend service intervals. Tested duty cycles have shown hundreds of pounds of fuel savings per year, as well as extending service intervals by 24 weeks (on a typical 500-hour maintenance schedule). The second technology, Autoshift, complements Stop-Start Control and will be featured on all new nine and ten-tonne models as standard. Many automatic transmission solutions use engine speed to trigger gear change points. Autoshift, however, uses torque demand to guide changes. In challenging and demanding conditions – such as steep gradients and high payloads – Autoshift technology enables the transmission to hold lower gears for longer, providing torque, power and drive when it’s needed most. When the machine is unladen, the system allows gears to be changed quickly, again improving operator productivity and fuel efficiency. Paul Macpherson, Sales and Marketing Director at Terex Construction’s Coventry facility, commented: “As the UK market leader in site dumper equipment, continually improving our portfolio to deliver even greater customer benefit is a key part of our product development strategy.