Blueprint Dunfermline, a community-led celebration of architecture and the built environment in Dunfermline and West Fife, launches on Friday 2 September and will run until the middle of 2017.

We are proud to say that Avocado Sweet is leading a consortium of local groups to deliver this unique initiative. It is the kind of programme that more usually a city would stage, often centred around the opening of a grand, new star architect-designed building. Towns like Dunfermline perhaps tend to assume they don’t have the architectural pedigree to celebrate their buildings; there also seems to be an assumption that you need to have new buildings before you can shout about your architecture.

However, while Dunfermline does have a new museum opening next year, designed by Richard Murphy Architects, Blueprint also wants to celebrate our existing assets ranging from the varied domestic architecture such as council house design to internationally recognised buildings like Dunfermline Abbey and the historic village of Culross. We want to invite people to notice architectural assets during their daily routine, with, for instance, an illustrated map of the town centre and even an architectural guide for the circular No 5 bus route!

As well as Avocado Sweet, Blueprint Dunfermline comprises Fire Station Creative, Chalk, Central Dunfermline Community Council, Red Field and Sam Foster Architects and the programme of events, exhibitions and lighting installations is being supported by the Strategic Events Investment Programme at Fife Council and the Carnegie Trust.

The first event  is an exciting exhibition by Chalk, which opens on 2 September. Ffion and Steven Blench, a husband and wife team from Aberdour, are showcasing their own modern decorative plasterwork at Fire Station Creative alongside pieces by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, George Bankart and Thomas Clayton.  This will be followed on 7 September by a series of lightning-fast presentations at an architecture-themed Pecha Kucha, run with Create in Fife, Fife Cultural Trust.

Blueprint Dunfermline is also working with Red Field Arts to highlight the architecture in the closes and pends of Dunfermline with interactive lighting installations. Old School Close is the first location proposed.

Other planned activities include:

*          Images of ‘Old Dunfermline’ will be projected onto a prominent town centre building.

*          An exhibition curated by artist Ian Moir will describe his proposed new spire landmark for Fife

*          A drop in architecture clinic will be an opportunity for the public to access free expert advice and inspiration.

*          Expert tour guides will host walks around Dunfermline and Culross.

*          A tour of Andrew Carnegie House, one of Dunfermline’s newest architectural landmarks.

*          Pupils from a local primary Schools will design an ‘Outdoor classroom’ with help from Sam Foster Architects.

*          A series of windsocks created by artist Olga Krasanova will fly from the Fire Station.

*          A photographic archive of images of Dunfermline’s architecture will be gathered throughout Blueprint.

 

We hope Blueprint Dunfermline will provide locals and visitors alike with a fresh, new way of looking at their environment. You can find out more about Blueprint Dunfermline at blueprintdunfermline.com.