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New homes on the cards for Govanhill

September 4 2015

New homes on the cards for Govanhill
Govanhill Housing Association and Collective Architecture have drawn up plans for 42 new homes for social rent on a brownfield site at the corner of Victoria and Butterbiggins Road, Glasgow.

Designed to frame the B-listed former Samaritans Hospital the scheme takes the form of a seven storey corner block descending toward shorter flanking ‘book ends’.

A mews lane to the rear will offer pedestrian-only access to two family homes with kitchens and living rooms oriented to overlook this space.

In their design statement Collective noted: “Brick is the predominant material, a warm buff colour compliments the adjacent Samaritans hospital building. Linear rustication of the brick at ground level provides a subtle datum, responding to the bus garage on Butterbiggins Road and the horizontal lines in the elevation of the Samaritans hospital. Copper ‘oxide’ cladding is proposed for areas of lightweight construction in the gables and recessed areas of elevation. The pre-patinated material is long lasting and has warm tones which complement the buff brick.”
Feature lighting and integrated seating and planting will be implemented
Feature lighting and integrated seating and planting will be implemented
properties will range in size from one to five bedrooms
properties will range in size from one to five bedrooms

6 Comments

Stephen
#1 Posted by Stephen on 4 Sep 2015 at 18:54 PM
Don't like this at all I'm afraid. It doesn't need an architect to design a building like this, just building regs, Spons and AutoCAD.
Massing: why is the tower appropriate? Why does it step? A traditional Glasgow treatment of such site (a dominant facade to a major route) would be a consistent height for the full length.
Facade treatment: Brick isn't really a Glasgow material. The way it's used is also odd, as if it were a 2D skin Hollywood set. I thought we left big 'feature' panels of standing seam cladding with cheap 90s developers.
Overall this looks as cheap as it probably is and could be anywhere in Britain.
Nice to see the site developed but can't we be a bit more ambitious than that?
Art Vandelay
#2 Posted by Art Vandelay on 4 Sep 2015 at 20:54 PM
I think that's being a touch unfair. Have you read the design statement?

To me it seems well conceived and rational.
Ross
#3 Posted by Ross on 4 Sep 2015 at 21:46 PM
I do this building. Govanhill needs good quality, warm, spacious places to live in which they can be proud of! I would be happy to live here. It's not a Glasgow tenement, but it does meet the requirements of the people who live in this area- from families to people with disabilities, the elderly etc. Yes design is important, but I think it's still attractive and will help the people of Govanhill live in high standard social accommodation. It's needed desperately.
EdwardHarkins
#4 Posted by EdwardHarkins on 8 Sep 2015 at 10:13 AM
My personal litmus test of "would I want to live in that" tends to push me towards agreeing with Stephen. So I need to await completion before coming to a more considered judgement.
Ross I'm a little unsure (troubled?) by your "Yes design is important, *but*...". Doesn't 'high standard social accommodation' require good design as a pre-requisite?
BTW Art I would agree that 'rational' is applicable, but maybe in a different way from what you mean ;-)
the punctuation polis
#5 Posted by the punctuation polis on 8 Sep 2015 at 13:37 PM
Eddie lad, I guess you have got a lot of punctuation laying around you need to use up in a hurry?
Stephen - its has clean lines, sensible massing (you seen some of the star-chitects stuff recently?) and I agree who needs architects? viva the technician!
ambition? do it on your own budget!
brick is becoming the new Glasgow material as virtually every resi development in the past 15 years uses it.
D to the R
#6 Posted by D to the R on 8 Sep 2015 at 14:00 PM
TPP - That's the spirit ! - A world without ambition. Your comment is not only naive .... it's disrespectful to the majority of technicians who do actually 'get' the ambition of projects they work on. If you want to live in a world without that - why don't you try 70s communist Russia ... I think those housing schemes might be the ambition-less 'homes' you aspire too ?!

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