Eden Court hosts exhibition of Scotland’s first Housing Expo

An exhibition of the UK’s first sustainable housing expo, which will be held in Inverness in 2010, will go on display at Eden Court, Inverness from Tuesday (20 October).

A series of scale models will demonstrate the layout of the housing expo, including 55 cutting edge sustainable homes and the surrounding pathways, roads, trees, social spaces and community areas.

Based on an established model found in Finland and mainland Europe, the Expo is set to put Scotland and the Highlands firmly on the map as a leader in sustainable living and provide a vision for the next generation of Scottish housing. 40% of the Expo homes will be affordable, with the remaining 60% available for sale on the open market.  

Fully supported by the Scottish Government, Highland Council and a consortium of agencies, Scotland’s Housing Expo is a result of an architectural competition which selected the teams who have designed these innovative homes. The Expo houses and their contents will form a platform for showcasing the wealth of Highland and Scottish design talent, including interior and product design. The initiative also provides a ‘test bed’ for construction and technological innovation, which will inform Scottish house building in the future. The houses will inspire developers to learn new skills and source fresh ideas to incorporate into future designs, while demonstrating how new building standards can be met on energy efficiency and carbon reduction.

The Expo will be held on a site at Balvonie Braes, south east of Inverness, just off the A9. When it ends, the houses will be available to buy or rent and it will become a living community.

With support from SUST, which was launched in 2002, to raise public awareness and understanding of the role of sustainable design in creating better places, the exhibition will open on Tuesday morning and will remain at Eden Court until the end of October. It will then tour the country before coming back to Inverness ahead of the Expo opening next summer.

Councillor Jean Urquhart, chair of the Housing Expo board said: "We are delighted that Inverness is the first destination for the Expo exhibition and the Highlands will be leading the way to a better, sustainable-living future. The exhibition will really help to bring the Expo to life and demonstrate how Scotland’s housing could look in the future. We are incredibly grateful to SUST for making the exhibition tour happen.”