Phase 2 – Urban Housing
Position on retrofit housing.
Considering the importance of housing stock to the city’s overall success has been a vital aspect in considering design moves.
My approach should consist of selective deconstruction, disassembly, and flexible reuse of existing housing (where appropriate), and new additions that promote and integrate an approach to communal and integrated living. To best understand the current issue occurring on-site, my proposal looks at housing at both a micro and macro level, identifying problems and presenting design solutions with justification on a neighbourhood scale.
Micro – individual flats should offer safe, accessible, flexible, and adaptable living apartments. The current housing is restricted by space and access. All flats follow the then-popular cookie-cutter approach to layout, orientation, and amenities, which doesn’t best reflect the wants and needs of the current residents. We are all different, our homes should reflect that.
Macro – the scheme should re-establish connections to the Glasgow grid which is some of the oldest in the city. The current housing presents very little clarity on the street edge. Further, it is coupled with an orientation that does not promote any sense of hierarchy or definitive front and back.
Key architectural language should be reminiscent of Scottish tenemental housing, allowing spaces to encourage active and passive community spaces. Further uses of shared courtyards, spends, and bays should be suggested throughout.
Be it new residents, an aging population, or changing family and work dynamics our lives are rich and complex, and our homes should be a sanctuary to reflect and inhabit these changes.
