Emily Storm Straw
The Inner Moray Crofting Township // The Black Ilse
Following lobbying, a new Scottish Land Reform Act 2023 has come into effect and as a result, The Inner Moray Crofting Township has additional funding to support a Just Land Transition - vital for a net zero future. Crofting accounts for 25% of the land in Scotland’s Crofting counties and represents a huge opportunity to sequester carbon.
The township supports social and ecological justice providing space for the Inner Moray Crofting community. This includes a farm shop, town hall, council chambers, teaching and advice areas, retirement homes, a livestock yard, a coir roll nursery, oyster propagation, and communal equipment stores.
The project sits in a salt marsh landscape, restored by the Crofters. Materiality and form take precedent from vernacular blackhouses, using locally sourced thatch, stone, and timber.
