New partnership and business plan announced

(10 June 2026) Architecture and Design Scotland, the Scottish Government’s architecture and design agency, brought together key industry leaders at an event at their base at Edinburgh Futures Institute on Tuesday evening, to announce their Business Plan for the year ahead, two new strategic partnerships and a preview of A&DS : SpACE, which will be a temporary exhibition and event space, where Scotland’s architecture sector will be showcased. 

The Architecture and Design Scotland Business Plan for 2026/27 reflects the growing importance of design in addressing national priorities, including the climate transition, housing delivery, economic renewal and citizens’ wellbeing. 

Architecture and Design Scotland will focus on strengthening the sector’s capacity and impact through a programme that supports sector development, fosters strategic partnerships and demonstrates the value of design. 

Jim MacDonald, Chief Executive of Architecture and Design Scotland, said:

“In our Business Plan for 2026/27 we set out an important step forward for our organisation and the sector. We are honing our focus to better support the people and organisations who design and shape Scotland’s buildings and places. 

Design has a critical role to play in meeting the challenges we face, and we are committed to helping unlock its full potential.”

Collaboration is critical to achieve impact, and at the event, two new strategic partnerships were announced.

One partnership – between Architecture and Design Scotland and BE-ST, Scotland's national innovation centre for construction and the built environment – will see the organisations work closely together to align the design and innovation in the built environment. Stephen Good, CEO of Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), said:

“We are excited to welcome this new partnership between BE-ST and A&DS. There is clear alignment between our two organisations and a shared focus on driving policy for the built environment, which delivers better place outcomes, higher quality, climate resilient architecture and design, and more opportunities for all related sectors and supply chains. 

“BE-ST and A&DS are dedicated to accelerating the built environment’s just transition to net zero. We're looking forward to working together to identify new ways of delivering place-based, housing-led regeneration that maximises the potential for bio-based materials and modern methods of construction (MMC), like Scotland's world-class timber offsite manufacturing capability, to support the architecture and built environment sectors to thrive and create the neighbourhoods and infrastructure Scotland's communities deserves.”

A further partnership was announced at the event, which sees A&DS, the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and V&A Dundee collaborating to support Scottish architecture and the design sector.

Announcing the partnership, Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee, said:  

“As V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum, we are looking forward to working with our partners Architecture and Design Scotland and RIAS to celebrate Scotland’s architects and architecture.  Good architecture and design underpins our lives every day, creating spaces and places that help us, give us hope and makes us happy. Through this partnership, we will champion the role of architecture in Scotland as something to be supported, developed and celebrated at home in Scotland and around the world.”

Speaking about the partnership, Tamsie Thomson, Chief Executive of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), said: 

"We are excited to be working with Architecture and Design Scotland and V&A Dundee, as this new partnership presents an invaluable opportunity to combine our efforts, to amplify the importance of good architecture for Scotland, and strengthen its visibility.

From the places that we love and care about, to the spaces that we rely on, good architecture matters because it shapes everyday life. It inspires us, while supporting how we choose to live, work and play. With that comes the responsibility of taking architecture and its impact on people seriously. Through this collaboration, we want to support and champion the people and practices that make up and represent our sector, in celebration of all that Scottish architecture has to offer. Together, we will be able to make sure that this continues to grow in Scotland and beyond." 

With the Business Plan for 2026/27 now launched, Architecture and Design Scotland will begin rolling out a series of initiatives over the coming months, working closely with strategic partners across the sector to deliver meaningful, long-term impact.

The Business Plan for 2026/27 sets out a clear list of priorities for the organisation:

• Accelerate growth, build capacity and create opportunity across Scotland’s architecture and design sector
• Unlock better housing outcomes through design-led innovation
• Embed user-centred and design-led approaches in major public sector capital investment projects, including health and learning estates