Ness Bank Masterplan

The Ness Bank redevelopment transforms a key brownfield and greenfield site overlooking the River Ness into a residential-led mixed-use neighbourhood of around 770 new homes. The masterplan establishes a connected urban framework that weaves together landscape, movement, and built form, creating a network of streets, green corridors, and public spaces that link naturally with the wider Torvean and Ness-side area, realising the city’s vision for a coherent and sustainable riverside community.

As Lead Architect and Lead Consultant, Bracewell led the visioning, design, and planning coordination for the site, developing a design code and masterplan rooted in placemaking and landscape-led principles. The proposals respond to the site’s setting and topography, using structural green spaces and key view corridors to define neighbourhoods and reinforce a distinctive sense of place.

The layout promotes walkable and inclusive communities, integrating active travel routes, civic spaces, and play areas within a legible street and block hierarchy. Public realm design was central to the concept — introducing community focal points and green links that encourage social interaction, enhance biodiversity, and create a strong visual identity for this emerging riverside neighbourhood.