A STELLAR YEAR FOR NORR O
ur growing community is thriving and we are delighted to share project news and award wins from NORR. As well as winning awards for education buildings and commercial developments, the team are designing the new Space Hub in Sutherland which is being developed to launch small satellites from the Scottish Highlands. NORR’s Karen Duncan brings us up to speed.
NORR is a global design leader and has been based at Skypark for 18 months. Our professional team of architects, planners and interior designers apply big picture thinking to deliver exceptional projects in partnership with our clients. 2019 saw a multitude of award wins where projects were recognised for their innovative design approach. Most notably, NORR succeeded in winning ‘Commercial Development of the Year’ at the Herald Property Awards for Red Tree Magenta in Shawfield. This Grade A office building aims to be a catalyst for a new business district in Glasgow. NORR also saw a double success at the Education Buildings Scotland Awards, with West Calder High School, crowned Project of the Year and Bertha Park High School, Perth taking home the Award for Technology: Transforming Learning, Teaching and the Curriculum. Hilltop Primary School and Bertha Park were also shortlisted in the Project of the Year category, highlighting NORR’s commitment to delivering inspiring learning spaces for future generations. Kevin Cooper, NORR’s Education lead, worked on all three schools and is constantly looking at new educational design concepts while considering environmental impacts and sustainability, helping to transform the lives of young people in Scotland. In order to change the lives of young people and the communities they live in; NORR’s Glasgow
team ensures that community and stakeholder engagement events are held whenever possible with projects such as schools. These projects do not only impact the students but also the staff that use them and the communities they are in; listening to community concerns at an earlier stage helps to ensure all parties are happy with the final project.
Images: (Above) Space Hub Sutherland (Below) West Calder High School
But it’s not just the education sector where NORR excel. The team are designing the new Space Hub in Sutherland which is being developed to launch small satellites from the Scottish Highlands. The planning application has just been submitted to Highland Council and if approved, up to 12 launches a year could eventually be made from the site. Kevin Stephen, director for NORR said “The Space Hub project is exciting, as well as complex and sensitive. The integration of a vertical small satellite launch facility, with associated infrastructure into this rural and naturally significant site, presents many interesting challenges for us; the sort of challenges we thrive on. “Off the back of recent project wins, the Glasgow team continues to grow. We have already welcomed a number of new people, but we are still looking for ambitious and enthusiastic individuals to join our architectural team.”
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Contact info: Karen.duncan@norr.com NORR Consultants Ltd Suite 1A, Skypark 5, 45 Finnieston St www.norr.com
