February 5 2020

Glasgow Housing Association has earmarked 70 mid-market homes for the former Garscadden Primary, Knightswood, in a fast-track approach which it is hoped will serve as a model for future off-site construction by contractor CCG.

Anderson Bell + Christie have been appointed to lead the design which includes a mix of flats, houses and wheelchair accessible properties on the site of a disused 1920’s Glasgow Corporation school formed from red terracotta brick and decorative stone elements.

The plan calls for these buildings to be demolished to allow the street edges to be reinforced with new-build terraces fronting onto central communal gardens designed by HTA.

Detailing the new materiality of weather-resistant off-white render the architects wrote: “In response to the local context, a language of pale textured render, with well-proportioned openings has been employed.

“Within this calm framework, articulated render elements are introduced to provide a sense of scale and detail to the material, while making a nod towards the quoins of the existing school, and the articulation through the colour of the prominent local typology.”

The project has been modelled on MVRDV’s Ypenburg Waterwijk development at the Hague in the Netherlands.

9 Comments

#1 Posted by monkey9000 on 5 Feb 2020 at 10:18 AM

"weather-resistant off-white render" oh yes we are all familar with that in the west of Scotland.
bulls**t; "MVRDV’s Ypenburg Waterwijk" all houses have their own dedicated greenhouse??, surrounded by water?? completely car-free site?? colourful, uplifting and fun?? mix of housing and tenure types?? CCG and AB+C I smell absolute bullsh**t eminating from your exhaust pipes!

#2 Posted by Walt Disney on 5 Feb 2020 at 10:32 AM

Crikey. OSM is really pricey, but can work if you can use the speed to cut prelim costs etc....however...this looks like a completely method driven solution. In the quest to build efficiently, quickly and to budget, it looks like they've taken their eye off what they were hoping to build in the first place.

Just because you can doesn't mean that you should.

#3 Posted by Auntie Nairn on 5 Feb 2020 at 12:41 PM

OSM is great, but if the cost is to eliminate the Architecture and the placemaking, then it's too high.

#4 Posted by Speechless on 5 Feb 2020 at 13:50 PM

I'm not usually one to comment, but this is awful!

#5 Posted by Gavin Adam on 5 Feb 2020 at 14:02 PM

Absolute shocker.

#6 Posted by Step on 5 Feb 2020 at 14:15 PM

MVRDV should sue for defamation

#7 Posted by CM on 5 Feb 2020 at 16:54 PM

Had to read the description again after looking at the images. Genuinely thought they were business park office buildings.

#8 Posted by "El" on 6 Feb 2020 at 12:38 PM

Wow!!!! ????

#9 Posted by Steven roulston on 14 Feb 2020 at 06:57 AM

Absolutely appalled that the entrance building cannot be integrated into the new design this lacks vision and destruction of a building of architectural quality unlike what is being proposed. Another appalling decision by glasgow city council.!!!

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