Designs created by two Perth secondary school students are to influence the shape of a £28m complex needs facility to be built in the city.

Isla Bethune of Bertha Park High School and Tassi Forbes of Perth High School jointly won a competition to feed into the plans for 60 self-contained studio flats for people with complex needs earmarked for a site at Bertha Park next to one of the secondary schools.

The competition was run as part of “Our Inclusive Community Project", an initiative led by Capability Scotland and MOBIE (Ministry of Building Innovation and Education), a charity founded by television architect George Clarke to get young people more involved in shaping future homes and communities.

Mr Clarke says the competition brought together 'brilliant minds' and he's now excited to see how the project’s architects take them forward:

"Inspiring young people to help define the communities of the future is a real passion of mine. Creating communities that are innovative, beautiful, genuinely sustainable, and transform the quality of people's lives is why we run these challenges.

"I was blown away by the quality of submissions. Each was incredibly well thought out and took account of the varied and complex needs of those who will use the spaces."

The Chief Executive of Capability Scotland, Brian Logan, says it is very important to the charity to get the help of local communities with such important programmes:

“Co-production is central to our vision of creating exemplar facilities for people with diverse and complex needs. Involving talented young people of Scotland in the design of our most strategic project to date is extremely exciting.

“We’re overwhelmed with the quality of the submissions, and the creativity used to develop such incredible and thoughtful designs.”

The school students’ concepts will be taken on board by architects Anderson, Bell + Christie, whose lead architect for Bertha Park is Caroline Dearden.

Ms Dearden said:

“The brief Capability Scotland set for this inspiring challenge, was intended to inspire creative minds, and embed the importance of inclusive communities and accessibility through the design process – part of Capability Scotland’s core mission. The entries we received show that it has done just that and has ignited a passion for design, creativity, and innovation in so many young designers from across the country.

“Seeing the outstanding and forward-thinking concepts that have been created by these young people is incredible. They have encapsulated what ‘Inclusive Living’ truly means. Capability Scotland places a strong emphasis on community and these young designers have encompassed connections and relationships beautifully within their designs and presented them very well.”

Read more: Scotland’s first complex needs college opens; Glasgow: Working together for a healthy city; Charity: Protect learning disability rights now

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