Scottish architects have named a row of houses and flats in St Andrews the country’s best building.
Westburn Lane took the Andrew Doolan Award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland.
Previous winners of the £25,000 prize include the Scottish Parliament building and Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland.
The contemporary courtyard development beat a Maggie’s Centre in Lanarkshire by Reiach & Hall to the title.
Designed by Edinburgh-based Sutherland Hussey Harris for Eastacre Investments, judges remarked that the “uncompromisingly contemporary” development was the clear winner. Expertly woven into the existing fabric of St Andrews, it was a “virtuoso work of urban renewal”.
The high-end homes have already won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
In nine buildings in Westburn Lane, the 14 town houses, terraces, large maisonettes and apartments differ from each other to echo the old riggs pattern of the surrounding area.
Sutherland Hussey Harris projects director David McKenna said: “Inevitably, developing a contemporary housing project within a conservation area had its own particular challenges.
“The site is located within the historic centre of St Andrews and with very restricted boundaries within one of the mediaeval rigg plots.
“There was a need to balance the requirements of the developer with the need to integrate the project sympathetically into the unique context, along with more prosaic considerations such as dealing with parking provision and refuse storage.”
He said rigorous but productive dialogue with Fife Council’s planning department resulted in a scheme which he hoped enhanced the urban context.
Council depute leader Lesley Laird congratulated the architects and council planning staff, who she said helped to shape a design sympathetic to the area.
She said: “It’s wonderful that an example of the planning team’s close working relationships with clients, architects and developers has been recognised in this way, and this approach sits at the heart of our aim to make Fife the best place to do business.”
The award was presented at a ceremony in the National Museum of Scotland by Culture and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
Judge Willie Watt said: “The work of architects can be transformative, not simply of places but of people’s lives.
“This shortlist testifies to that, and the worthy winner is a great building of the current era, which will hopefully contribute to a more enlightened approach to our historic townscapes.