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Amenity first Castlemilk pavilion blocks prioritise active travel

Amenity first Castlemilk pavilion blocks prioritise active travel

August 13 2020

AS Homes are pushing ahead with residential development in Glasgow's Castlemilk area with a planning submission detailing their intent to erect 36 flats for social rent on a brownfield site.

A triangular plot at Carmunnock Road, formerly occupied by Castlemilk Parish Church, has been earmarked for the build, which presents a challenging drop in level of around 10m.

This has necessitated delivering the required accommodation across a series of three pavilion blocks providing frontages to all sides while providing ready access at different site levels.

In a statement the architects wrote that they would prioritise green space, saying: "Whilst the site itself occupies an area of low transport amenity, areas of base transport amenity can be found directly to the north and south.

"To encourage the use of public transport and cycle routes integrated bike storage units and suitable landscaping will be incorporated into the design."

Adjoining a recently completed residential development at Glenacre Drive the project has been overseen by George Buchanan Architects to maximise amenity space.

A children's playground has been incorprorated into the design

Three wheelchair adaptive properties are included

6 Comments

#1 Posted by CM on 13 Aug 2020 at 15:19 PM

Plenty of car parking and some bike storage. Nothing too exciting.

#2 Posted by Daniel on 13 Aug 2020 at 15:54 PM

Lovely stuff, putting the play area adjacent to the main road there.

(cough, splutter)

#3 Posted by zod on 13 Aug 2020 at 15:55 PM

Is it a MAST? Is it a Page/Park? Is it a Collective?
No, it's someone else with the same pattern book!

#4 Posted by Seerightthroughyou on 14 Aug 2020 at 09:42 AM

I wonder if the designer realizes just how oppresive looking the resulting scheme will be. I'd invite them to just pause, look at the visuals and think about it for a moment - and then try to place themselves living there. Really? It looks remarkably similar to the council blocks demolished in the last few years around Muirhouse. The only real difference is the fenestration and the use of brick as the facing material - in this case to very poor effect. If you take the first image, remove the hedge/scrub etc and look at what's left... Tall, identikit black blocks overshadowing each other and crammed akwardly into one half of the site. I couldn't think of a more depressing building to come home to. I understand fully the finacial constraints on social housing - some HAs worse than others but all require building something for virtually nothing at the moment. However, could the scheme not have been articulated better to fit the site? Ie a scheme that gave a better degree of shelter from the road and didn't rely on identical individual blocks plonked across the site. Better material choices would help too - not more expensive, just better considered.