NEW Gorbals Housing Association director Fraser Stewart has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow School of Art.
He was recognised for his commitment to developing sustainable neighbourhoods through social housing.
In her oration, Sally Stewart, head of the Mackintosh School of Architecture, placed particular emphasis on the new approaches to regeneration and urban place making that Fraser has established while ‘rebuilding the Gorbals to address the contemporary needs and aspirations of its community [evidencing] that social housing can be the best available to anyone’.
She added that ‘he has supported a community to determine what it wants for itself, and enabled design and construction professionals to realise that vision, all the time demanding highest quality possible’.
Fraser accepted his honour ‘in deference to the many incredible volunteers in the Gorbals community who employ me and have inspired me’. He added, “I would not be standing here without my New Gorbals Housing Association committee members and colleagues’ constant support and commitment over the last three decades. All of this is for them.”
Jean Miller, chair of New Gorbals Housing Association said, “I am delighted Fraser’s achievements have been recognised in this way. Not just for the way he has driven forward our plans for the regeneration of the Gorbals over 30 years but for his work on behalf of community-controlled housing associations across Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Scottish housing would be a poorer place without him.”
