Byron Street, New Build Housing

Byron Street is a new build housing development in the west end of Glasgow commissioned by Partick Housing Association, a registered social landlord who owns and maintain social housing across the Partick district. Partick Housing are well known for their commitment to ecological issues and have invested heavily in the regeneration of small communities throughout the area. The project consists of 44 new build flats (including 6 wheelchair flats) with communal roof gardens, loggias and sun spaces to individual flats. The proposals complete the remaining half of an existing south facing tenement block. The southerly aspect enjoyed by existing residents has been addressed by stepping the building height and placing fewer storeys within the centre blocks to allow daylight to reflect into the backcourt. The stepped building line accommodates roof gardens accessed directly from each close for light recreation, such as gardening, clothes drying, playing and sitting. Large ground floor wheelchair family flats have been provided to meet the identified housing needs of the area. These flats have individual, south facing garden spaces accessed directly from the flat. The existing streetscape will be enhanced through re-surfacing, tree planting and inboard parking to improve street safety. French doors and balconies have been provided to the South façade and these elements are used to gather and exchange heat to the North of the building. The neighbouring tenement block has gone through many years of weathering and has a broad spectrum of colours within each block of sandstone. The aim is to harness and highlight this unique blend of colours in a contemporary way by selecting a strong blend of browns, blues, bronze and red brick types for the front and side elevations. Locharbriggs red sandstone blocks are used on the side elevations to complete the transition from the existing sandstone tenement block. Reclaimed light coloured blonde brick is proposed for the rear elevations to further enhance the amount of daylight reflected into backcourt.