Date: 08 June 09
Author: Caroline Ednie, Web Editor
Email this Article
| Click to Print
This new build housing project adjacent to Elder Park in Govan will be a mixed tenure development and is set to provide a combination of 114 houses and apartments, with units for private sale, shared equity and social rent.
The development has been designed to offer a wide variety of house/apartment types to suit a variety of users. The various block types all have their own distinct character, yet share common materials, similar window proportions and large ‘feature’ indentations.
The materplan creates greater urban scale on three sides, with 4 storeys to Govan Road, and 3 storeys to both Elder Street and Elder Park. The street elevation to Govan Road is kept simple and restrained reflecting the tenemental character further along the street, with large entrance indentations breaking up and animating the length of the facade. To increase the scale & presence at either end of the elevation the parapet line is manipulated, flicking up to wards the corner. This block faces a difficult challenge, as effectively it is viewed on the round. As such the living rooms & kitchens are positioned on the south facing rear elevation, enabling it to be opened up with full width balconies. This also maximises the potential for the flats to benefit from passive solar gain.
The fenestration of the Elder Street elevation has been designed to be more playful and informal, however the regular large indentations for the entrances serve to create more regular rhythm and also mirror the language of the Govan Road elevation, while also breaking up the mass of the long elevation. The block is made up of 5 closes, with 2-Storey Maisonettes on the ground & first floors with 1 & 2 bed flats above.
Two Storey housing is contained in the centre of the site. The elevations of the houses have been designed to create a hybrid between suburban and urban housing, with greater emphasis place on urban character. The blocks are broken up with balcony recesses, which again mirrors the blocks on Govan Road & Elder Street. This also enables the houses to have a strong connection between inside and out. Cottage Flats are positioned at the ends of the terrace, to animate Garmouth Street and the new street to the north. The block is made up of 2 & 3 bed houses, a 2-bed ground floor wheelchair cottage flat and a 2-bed upper cottage flat.
The Elder Park elevation is treated as a set piece and is more complex than any of the other blocks. Five 3-Storey townhouses are situated at either end of the block with four 2-storey houses located in the middle, creating a super terrace of 14 units. The middle 3 townhouses of the 5 are set back above the ground floor, which again serves to break down the mass of the elevation using the theory of large ‘feature’ indentations, only this time the indentation is turned upside down. The end terrace townhouses have feature corner windows and are entered on the gable, allowing the gables to animate Garmouth Street and the new street to the north in a similar fashion to the 2-Storey terraces.
The new roads have been designed to enable a continuous flow of traffic, while dealing with problematic existing services running along the western boundary with the site.
The project is currently in the planning stage and is due to go on site in January 2010 with a 2011 completion date.
Project: Elderpark Housing
Architect: Anderson Bell + Christie
Client: Elderpark Housing Association
Other partners: Glasgow City Council
Location: Govan, Glasgow
Cost: £11.5m
Link: www.andersonbellchristie.com
Images: Anderson Bell + Christie
(Click on images to enlarge)
Be the first to comment on this article .
