Are these our ideal homes?

'WHAT is our vision? Nobody is asking that." So said Malcolm Fraser, one of Scotland's most influential and outspoken architects, at this week's Building Homes For Scotland, an Edinburgh conference addressing the current housing shortage.

He had a point. Up until then, the delegates gathered at Our Dynamic Earth had stressed the need to build more homes, the need to make more affordable housing available and the need to update the current planning system. But all the speakers had been concentrating on the nuts and bolts – nobody seemed to be looking at the bigger picture.

"What do we mean by 'the housing supply challenge?'" Fraser continued, riffing on the subtitle of the conference. "I fear our approach is a bit mechanistic – it is all about units. I fear that we will fail if we go along that route."

Fraser argued that the focus of any new housebuilding push should be to build "happy communities", pointing out that "there's no point putting windmills on buildings if they're going to be boarded up in ten years".

Green MSP Robin Harper backs some of Fraser's concerns. "Malcolm is right, of course, to insist that the core issue is building sustainable communities that are a pleasure to live and work in, with diverse shops, good schools and green spaces, not just 'suburban deserts' of housing units," he says.

"Nothing could be less environmentally sustainable or more financially wasteful than sending the bulldozers in just 30 years after the builders finish."

The focus on units is understandable, however. On 31 October last year, Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, launched Firm Foundations, the Scottish Government's discussion paper on the future of housing in Scotland. The current rate of new house building – 25,000 new houses a year – is inadequate, she argues, and must increase to 35,000 by the middle of the next decade if the nation's housing requirements are to be met.

Before any bricks are laid, however, shouldn't there be a serious debate about what form these thousands of new buildings should take?

The UK has an international target, under the Kyoto agreement, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 percent by 2008-12. Furthermore, the Scottish Government is hoping to introduce a Climate Change Bill later this year that would set a mandatory target of cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. Given that almost 30 per cent of our total carbon-dioxide emissions come from domestic use, any major housebuilding strategy such as the one proposed clearly needs to take environmental considerations into account.

Firm Foundations says : "Increased housing supply must be delivered on the basis of higher environmental and design standards that create sustainable homes in places where people wish to live and work." Laudable aims, but what will these standards mean in practice? Here, we present four possible architectural solutions to Scotland's housing supply challenge. Some, such as the Berwickshire Housing Association's "ECO-5" house in Ayton, are ambitious but expensive. Others, like Stewart Milne's mass-market model, are as eco-friendly as they can be at such a modest price.

Whatever Scotland's brave new homes look like, however, it is vital that, unlike the ill-conceived high-rise developments of the 1960s, they are able to stand the test of time.

• A copy of Firm Foundations can be found at snipurl.com/firmfound. The closing date for responses to it is today.

THE VOLUME PROTOTYPE

SIGMA HOUSE, BUILDING RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT, WATFORD

DESIGNED BY: PRP ARCHITECTS FOR ABERDEEN-BASED HOUSEBUILDER STUART MILNE HOMES SPEC: A FOUR-BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE

THE SIGMA is an attempt to produce a "near-zero-carbon" house that could be rolled out cost-effectively in large numbers. It uses renewable energy by heating hot water from solar thermal panels and by generating electricity from roof-mounted turbines and photovoltaic panels. Temperature control is achieved through a "whole-house solar stack" – heat sensors that open and close vents to manage temperature and air flow. The SIGMA also uses a grey-water recycling system, which collects bath and shower water to flush lavatories.

Although it isn't a totally zero-carbon dwelling, the SIGMA achieved a five-star rating (out of a possible six) from the UK Government's new "Code for Sustainable Homes", and at a relatively modest extra cost of £20,000. Stuart Milne, the company's chairman, sees the SIGMA as "only the starting point" in an ongoing research and development programme. The company is now looking at ways to improve on their prototype's green credentials through additional onsite electrical generation, either via high-performance photovoltaics or communal wind turbines.

THE "SOCIAL MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY"

COLONIES-INSPIRED CRESCENT, CALDERWOOD, WEST LOTHIAN

DESIGNED BY: MALCOLM FRASER ARCHITECTS – ONE OF A NUMBER OF MODELS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PROPOSED FOR CALDERWOOD SPEC: A CRESCENT OF 14 THREE-STOREY TOWNHOUSES

'IWORRY about some housebuilders' 'inbuilt eco features'," says Malcolm Fraser. "There's often more energy going into the manufacture of some of these things than you actually get back." Fraser's philosophy is all about getting the simple things right. Building "happy communities", he argues, should be the architect's number-one priority. After all, what's the point of constructing thousands of zero-carbon homes if you're going to have to tear them down in 30 years' time because nobody wants to live in them?

"It's what I call the social model of sustainability," he says. "Is it the sort of place where people are going to get to know their neighbours? Is there a place to kick a football about?"

Fraser also believes we have a lot to learn from our architectural past. Inspired by Edinburgh's Colonies, right, the above design for Calderwood uses shared walls to minimise heat loss. Robust materials anticipate natural weathering and elevated southerly aspects with large windows maximise potential solar energy gains.

THE HOLISTIC HOME

NEW PRIVATE HOUSE, SCOTTISH BORDERS

DESIGNED BY: EDINBURGH-BASED GAIA ARCHITECTS FOR A PRIVATE CLIENT IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERSSPEC: A THREE-BEDROOM HOME

SOON to be submitted for planning permission, this house incorporates several emerging concepts in green building. It will be constructed from "Brettstapel", which is a prefabricated, glueless system made from low-grade timber panels. As with all Gaia buildings, the design minimises heat loss through high levels of insulation and airtightness – to the extent that it achieves "Passive Standard" (meaning it needs only 10kWh/m2/year for heating, less than 10 per cent of a "typical" house – see www.passivehouse.com).

In terms of materials, local stone will visually connect the building to the landscape (and cut down on transportation costs) and the house will be predominantly clad with untreated Scottish timber, because of its low embodied energy (ie it takes relatively little energy to extract, manufacture, maintain and demolish). Inside, non-toxic finishes such as mineral paints and solid timber flooring will be used to ensure a healthy indoor environment, for those building, using and maintaining the house. With an eye on the future, the house has also been designed to ensure ease of remodelling and eventual deconstruction.

THE ZERO CARBON HOME

ECO-5, BEANBURN ROAD, AYTON, SCOTTISH BORDERS

DESIGNED BY: JOHN R HARRIS AND PARTNERS FOR THE BERWICKSHIRE HOUSING ASSOCIATION AND THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT SPEC: DETACHED FOUR-BEDROOM HOME WITH GARAGE

WHEN it is completed later this year, the prototype ECO-5 will be Europe's first hydrogen-fuelled, zero-carbon home. Energy captured by a wind turbine and solar panels will be used to electrolyse water, splitting it into oxygen and hydrogen.

The hydrogen will then be stored in underground tanks, and can be used for electricity and heating as required.

Subsidised to the tune of £220,000 by a Scottish Government grant, the ECO-5's hydrogen fuel system certainly doesn't come cheap. However, it is hoped that costs will come down in the future as firms start mass-producing components. At this stage, the house is an experiment. As Alastair Brown, director of operations at BHA, puts it: "Unless we do a project like this, we won't know how effective the system is."

CAN YOU BUILD IT? YES, YOU CAN

WHERE to find inspiration and advice for your green building project:

1 A GOOD starting point might the GREEN BUILDING BIBLE, devised for individuals new to the concept of building an eco-friendly home, as well as those already working in the construction industry and in need of guidance on "green" construction.

This comprehensive two-volume manual – which was shortlisted for the RIBA International Book Award for Construction 2007 and is now in its third edition – will tell you what you need to know and how to do it, from start to finish. Get clued up on all the vital aspects of green building, such as gaining grants for your environmentally friendly building project, sourcing sustainable timber and other materials, designing an energy-efficient house and how best to heat, cool, light and insulate your home in ways that are kinder to the planet. Price £17 for both volumes 1 and 2, from www.greenbuildingbible.co.uk

2 IF IT'S inspiration in 3D form you want, then the CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY (CAT) in Snowdonia, Wales is worth a visit. It exists to promote a responsible way of life: admittedly that sounds a bit worthy, but CAT is not unlike a theme park for the eco-conscious citizen, showing that a sustainable existence is not only easy to achieve but also rewarding. The centre runs numerous short courses (weekend or week-long) focusing on sustainable home-building and refurbishment, for those with little or no experience in construction. In March, for example, you can learn how to build a timber-framed house. See www.cat.org.uk

3 IF, LIKE the first Three Little Pigs, you fancy a house made of straw, log on to buildingwithawareness.com There you can buy an instructive DVD and 152-page guidebook telling you all you need to know about building a solar-powered home with straw bales. Learn how to combine old materials and modern technologies to create a house that is solid, quiet and comfortable, as well as energy-efficient.