Doors Open Day is approaching and MAAC studio are busy preparing exhibition material for a number of events.  It’s a month away but the excitement is building.

Its not all about the fabulous foyers and luxury living! This week was a little less glamorous, peering onto dark, hidden spaces. The places that other prefers to ignore.

We were delighted to welcome Craig Frew to our site at St Johns Chapel on the Black Isle to deliver a training workshop on hot lime mortars. 

Our latest project is a town centre tenement building.  As soon as we are approached to survey one of these buildings, one of our fist concerns is surveying the rear of the property. These areas are difficult to access, maintenance is often neglected and they invariably in poor condition.

This week we are out in Ross-shire surveying a parliamentary church. On a damp day surrounded by trees, the midges are out in force. Balancing an umbrella, a tape measure and notepad while also swatting away flies is a special art that every architect in the Highlands must master.

Work started on conservation work at St Johns Chapel on the Black Isle, removing the vegetation to reveal the enclosure walls, and are raking out the loose mortar ready for repair work to begin.

The question of which lime mortar mix to use has been the “hot” topic of the week.