January 28 2020

Page\Park Architects have followed up their Laurieston housing with the handover of a new headquarters for New Gorbals Housing Association. Designed as the centrepiece of the Crown Street regeneration the offices are designed to strengthen relationships between NGHA staff and the community by forming a new civic piazza and meeting space.

Meeting the street with red brick walls interlaced with feature zinc-clad elements privacy is provided by ground floor glazing set behind deep piers. By contrast, first-floor glazing pushes the other way, protruding forward to maximise light and views.

In a statement, the architects said: “The building maintains a civic presence externally, with an expressive brick skin to visually connect the association to the wider Gorbals community. The facade is considered akin to a permeable ‘walled garden’, maximising views out to the surrounding city, whilst focused on an internal workspace which conceals an intimate south-facing courtyard garden. A large illuminated sign fixed to the building proudly announces ‘Gorbals’ as a landmark within the urban context.

“The office environment is centred around a large timber clad atrium, uniting various teams around a common circulation zone. The interior layout flows as one continuous room, with various niches offering degrees of privacy that range from larger communal working areas to private booths. Each space benefits from multiple aspects  through internal and external glazed partitions and windows, to ensure each space is reconnected to the wider cityscape.”

Stepped in height to respond to neighbouring housing the project strives to maintain a human scale towards the square and avoid overshadowing.

Natural ventilation is employed for all principal spaces with services concealed behind high-level Flemish bond brick openings and includes a custom smoke control system consisting of four large fans embedded within brick piers to negate the need for interior partitions.

1 Comment

#1 Posted by "El" on 29 Jan 2020 at 13:14 PM

Very impressive internal spaces.

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