Date: 26 May 09
Author: Caroline Ednie, Web Editor
Email this Article
| Click to Print
Eight years after the unmitigated success of their contemporary housing development at Graham Square, Molendinar Park Housing Association has revealed an exemplary new model for elegant, affordable and sustainable housing on an adjoining site in the East End of Glasgow.
The £11.6 million Moore Street development, featuring 93 properties including 42 rented, and 51 shared equity and shared ownership flats, is located on the site of the former meat market in the Gallowgate. In keeping with its predecessor, Moore Street cleverly creates a complex of contemporary private and public spaces within the scale and spirit of the historical site, whilst again bringing together architects Page \ Park, Richard Murphy, and McKeown Alexander (now JM). Elder and Cannon were introduced into the team to complete the Moore Street design quartet.
In terms of its design evolution the four appointed practices were initially invited to present their vision for a Moore Street masterplan, based on a proposal that each would be responsible for building approximately 20 to 25 flats. Particular emphasis was placed on energy conservation and a continuation of some of the successful themes already exhibited at Graham Square. The listed meat market archway on the Gallowgate side of the site also had to be retained and incorporated into the proposal.
Rob Joiner, Director of Reidvale and Molendinar Housing Association describes his thoughts on the new development. “We didn’t want to just repeat Graham Square. We were keen for Moore Street to evolve in its own way. But we learned some things from Graham Square that have worked very well and we have taken these into the new development. For example the external stairs in RMA’s Market House in Graham Square worked will in terms of creating successful communal spaces. The idea of creating a memorable approach to the development was also an idea that we wanted to explore, as were the fruit tree plantings which are now a real feature of Graham Square.”
In the event Richard Murphy Architects’ masterplan prevailed in the competition. Their idea was to build on the success of the private but communal courtyard entry, which was the heart of their project at Graham Square. The Moore Street masterplan focuses on a central public courtyard sitting immediately behind the historic arch and the obliged each of the architects to design a project entered from this courtyard into their own individual private courtyards. The effect of the whole scheme is to privatise or semi-privatise the site into a series of linked courtyards. A blue brick wall embedded with glazed bricks connects all four projects together and forms the communal boundary to the surrounding streets.
“We liked the fact that Richard Murphy’s masterplan idea opened up the site. The courtyard gave us a much more interesting arrangement than a more traditional approach with a road running up the Gallowgate and houses on either side. Suddenly it became more about looking out into courtyards,” continues Rob Joiner.
“The development doesn’t address the street in a conventional way. I think the spaces in between the buildings work very well and the views across the city are fantastic. I think it addresses the cityscape very well - it’s a very confident development in that sense. In conventional housing you tend to see another house across from you and you don’t get a sense of a city at all. I think Moore Street will be a tremendous place to live.”
Each of the four housing are described in more detail below.
Richard Murphy Housing
For a long time RMA have been interested in the idea of eschewing the internal tenement stair for flatted developments, preferring instead external staircase access. The external stairs make opportunities for semi-private space outside front doors and the minor theatre of climbing the stair. Placing the stairs within a communal courtyard, or forecourt, at Graham Square continued the theme but here at Moore Street the idea has been developed much more spectacularly.
Twenty-two flats are arranged around a three-sided court facing south. The main entrance from the public court to the private court is through a “lych-gate” like structure (also a bicycle store) and there is also a rear entrance from parking to the north. The entry phone controlled access to the court is at both these locations. Once within the court four stairs are placed in each of the corners. The two main stairs set off diagonally into the corner of the plan each visiting pairs of flats who each have their own terrace or seat outside their front door.
The stairs are set into the plan (as opposed to hanging off the wall) and this results in a great variety of plan types. The stair bifurcates at the third storey to the most spectacular of the flats where living spaces are placed in high ceilinged corner window rooms, dominating the skyline of the project. The two minor stairs meanwhile cantilever over the courtyard wall and terminate in two “upside down” maisonettes.
“There is nothing new to the idea of 'courtyard living', explains Richard Murphy. "Indeed, in Paris and many other central European cities it is the norm, but it is rarely found in this country. However, the combination of the progressive external staircases coupled with terraces etc within the courtyard we believe is very unusual and could set a very interesting precedent for dense but neighbourly urban development.”
Ground floor flats have their own individual small gardens both front and back with the front gardens looking onto a communal square. All living and kitchen spaces are capable of being combined as one space and are "through plans" with light coming from front and back.
The materials are block cavity walling with render, and a flat metal roof with large window areas to kitchens and living rooms.
Elder and Cannon Housing
Elder & Cannon’s housing provides high quality affordable residential accommodation with an emphasis on the social and practical issues of sustainability.
The accommodation is organised in 2 twin blocks arranged around an amenity entry courtyard. The dwellings run perpendicular to the street affording privacy for the main living spaces to enjoy the environmental benefits of substantial south facing glazing and access to generous full-length balconies.
In contrast, the North facing and side elevations are well insulated with a strong materiality and minimal apertures. The circulation areas are flooded with natural light from a single large scale opening which gives some depth and character to the elevation.
Internally the dwellings afford a degree of flexibility and choice of lifestyle for its residents to enjoy their homes throughout their lifetime.
The use of timber at the entrances was intended to provide a softer materiality and memorable identity to the semi-enclosed areas of the building , defining the spaces more as external rooms and highlighting the various thresholds the residents encounter on their journey to their dwellings.
Page\Park Housing
The Page\Park site on the Moore Street development is on the corner of Melbourne Street and Gallowgate. The design of the flats is based on 2 symmetrical blocks, arranged around a private courtyard, with 11 flats per block. These are triangular in form with a stepped south elevation.
The plan was developed so that the bedrooms and bathrooms are to the rear and sides of the blocks, with the living spaces to the front, all being south facing and having access to a balcony. At the Gallowgate edge of the blocks are curved bay windows. These are a modern take on the traditional Glasgow tenement bays.
The construction is load bearing concrete blockwork with concrete floors. This high thermal mass construction, with the insulation on the outside allows for the ‘tea cosy effect’ with thermal performance. This means that in the winter the heat is keep inside the flats and in the summer the heat is kept out. This reduces the costs for heating and cooling. Also this type of construction has excellent acoustic and fire separating qualities.
The project has rear and side elevations clad in silver metal cladding. The south elevation is finished in larch cladding, which gives a softer feel to the private outdoor balcony spaces. The roof is pitched profiled metal.
The ground floor level is finished in a blue brick, interspersed with coloured glazed bricks. This treatment is continued around the whole development, including boundary walls, to give the project a unity.
JM Housing
The nature of the context allowed jmarchitects to explore a relatively constrained site with an attitude of an economy of means, both in terms of site layout and the individual residential blocks. Jmarchitects' approach was seen as an opportunity to clearly define a series of distinct buildings and defensible landscaped gardens.
Jmarchitects' proposal comprises a free-standing block to the NE of the site and 2 blocks occupying the SE corner, adjacent to the retained archway. Combined, these blocks comprise 25, two bedroom flats and two, one bedroom flats, with proposed landscaped gardens and communal storage spaces. ‘Harder’ materials have been incorporated on the outer edges of the buildings with ‘softer’ materials on the inner faces. In some of the flats, where appropriate, sunspaces have been deployed to take advantage of free energy gains with windows positioned to maximize views and light levels.
The block to the south of the site sits behind an existing ‘B’ listed arched gateway. In common with the retained double archway facade in the award winning Graham Square development, this feature serves as a reminder of the site's meat market past and allows jmarchitects to continue their investigation of successfully merging contemporary urban housing with historic landmarks.
Jmarchitects have declared that their overall interest in the development has been in the creation of a simple series of modulated facades that echo the simplicity and order of their tenemental predecessors.
About Molendinar Park Housing Association
Molendinar Park Housing Association is one of the smaller housing associations in Glasgow with – including Moore Street – 508 rented units and a further 325 managed through factoring agreements. Following the success of the Graham Square development MPHA was named as the Royal Institute of British Architects Client of the Year 2001.
Moore Street Funders
Glasgow City Council
Historic Scotland
Molendinar Park Housing Association
There are currently properties available to buy. If you are interested in purchasing a flat, please contact Julie Smillie at Molendinar Housing Association: julie@molendinar.org.uk or 0141 564 5256
All images: Copyright Andrew Lee Photography
Richard Murphy Housing images: Copyright Richard Murphy Architects
Hi, could you please tell me if it's possible to rent one of the moore street flats?
Please try the contact details at the foot of the article.