The Pillars of Hilltown Dundee, Scotland Mitigating the death of the Multi: An Investigation into a better alternative to demolition through the vehicle of an architectural retrofit intervention into Dundee’s Hilltown Multi’s. The Multi as a housing typology is a dying breed, and this is particularly evident within Dundee. The city has changed dramatically as these Multi’s have risen and fallen between 1960 and 2022. There once stood 44 high rise blocks scattered across the city, now only 11 remain standing. Sitting Prominent within Dundee’s landscape, an upgrade to these blocks would be an upgrade to the wider city. The ambition of the intervention retains the existing DNA of the Hilltown Multi’s but revisits the Corbusian principles of the vertical neighbourhood and upgrades the blocks for contemporary living through the provision of diverse flat types and community programmes. All with a focus on building performance, leading to an environmentally & socially sustainable typology.
Demolished Multi
Vertical Neighbourhood
The Challenge The Macro Micro group research mapped house deprivation within Dundee Inner City and highlighted the necessity for an architectural intervention on the Hilltown Multi’s which ranks within the top 10% deprivation decile. This is partially due to several social and political factors playing a key role in the decline of this typology, which leads to further underfunding and dilapidation, resulting in demolition. Whilst there is no denying the issues noted within these blocks, there is an argument that the deterioration is largely down to the social and political factors at play, rather than the concept of this typology. Therefore, an architectural intervention could be used as a tool to mitigate the social-political issues noted, avoiding further demolition of these blocks and waste of embodied carbon associated. The issue with the Hilltown multi’s, as well as most of the council constructed towers, is the duality between the high-rise ideals – the very concept of living in a high-rise - condensing the programme of a neighbourhood into a vertical block - against the realisation of what was constructed. There were too many corners cut by the council in the design and construction of these towers, thus failing to incorporate integral principles of sustainable high-rise living. This retrofit revisits Corbusier’s principles for high-rise living and instils the principles need to retain and reinvent these 1960’s tower blocks into a contemporary sustainable typology – thus mitigating the further demolition of the breed.
Collage of Articles - Source (The Courier)
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The Existing Condition To save the multi’s and mitigate their further demise, we must understand and address their underlying issues. The ground floor of the Hilltown Multi’s is designed for a 1960’s living, it is vastly out of date and has been subject to crime and social disorder. The plan consists of around 70% redundant space and no functioning communal facilities. The 1960’s design for housing prioritised slum eradication and the blocks were packed with dense one & two bed accommodation - which were out of date when compared to contemporary spatial standards and the “one size fits all” accommodation model is equally inadequate when compared with the diversity of contemporary living & lifestyles. The blocks have undesirable circulation spaces and poor-quality construction which has led to a high concentration of damp and mould, which impacts the health of residents and notable levels of fuel poverty. This complexity of this intervention is realised by how it integrates into the existing ‘jacket’ of the Hilltown’s Multi’s and how it mitigates these addressed issues.
Site Plan - 1:500
Contents: 1. Phase 1 Intervention 2. Event & Community 3. Disabled, Deliveries & Temporary Activity Space 4. Cycle Hub 5. Sports & Leisure 6. Allotments 7. Respite Ponds 8. Existing Community Heating System 9. Entertainment 11. Sensory Gardens
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Assembly of Volumes
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1. Lounge Space 2. Cafe & Bar 3. Rentable Retail Space (short lease) 4. Toilet 5. Store 6. Kitchen & Prep 7. Coffee & Bar POS 8. Circulation Core 9. Lobby 10. Recessed Seating Bay 11. Elevators 12. Toilet 13. Site Office 14. Vertical Bike Store 15. Hidden Services (bins) 16. Community & Event Space 17. Control Room 18. Patio
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Free Plan The current ground floor of the Hilltown multis is primarily dormant and service spaces which has led to the multis being detached and isolated from the Hilltown and Dundee. This intervention seeks to reintegrate the blocks back into society through a fluid ground floor plan which is rich with communal programmes, engaging with the public realm.
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The reclamation of redundant space has provided the opportunity to implement programmes such as a cafe/bar, retail, communal & entertainment - accessible both to residents of the blocks and wider Hilltown. These programmes contribute to the health of a thriving vertical neighbourhood whilst also providing an opportunity for generating income and subsidising council maintenance costs. The design revisits corbusian principles and employs the free plan to organise these spaces within the existing footprint of the Hilltown Multi’s and succeeds in engaging with the public realm. The free plan then uses a lightweight secondary timber framed structure to divide these programmes whilst retaining the existing load bearing concrete columns as the primary structure. This retrofit design move also allows for ease of future adaptability - a key solution to demolition. Free Plan Model
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Core Diagram
The Spine The existing circulation areas within the Hilltown Multi’s are poor, the corridors and single stairwell are tight, dark, deteriorated spaces with little fresh air or light and thus creating a claustrophobic response to circulating throughout the block. This ultimately led to residents to going from point A to B as quick as possible with no social aspect, possessing security concerns, while stagnating communal living. This intervention celebrates the vertical neighbourhood through a ‘spinal’ upgrade - a space for interaction and reinforcing the formation of a community - critical to a successful neighbourhood. The design derives from the desire to create an event for residents and the process of ascending flights of stairs, an enjoyable one. To provide and create powerful and contemplative space for residents. The upgrade captures a rush of light and Dundee’s rich views, revisiting the 1960’s perception of the Multi being synonymous with fresh air and light.
Spine Model
Circulation Render
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Cafe & Bar Model
1. Wall Build up: 20mm Kingspan Rainscreen Panel Aluminium Frame and 130mm Cavity 12mm Breather Membrane 150mm External Rockslab Insulation 5mm Vapour Barrier 112mm Existing Brickwork 57mm Cavity 180mm Existing Blockwork 12mm Birchplywood Panel 2. Ceiling corner:
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160mm Existing Concrete Floor Slab 100mm Insulation External Underside 10mm Multi Foil Insulation Around Window Frame 50x200mm Aluminium Window Mullion 2. Floor Detail: Recessed 75mm Window Frame on Existing Concrete Slab Recessed 75mm Drain/gutter 75mm Vertical Stack bonded Brick Paving Patio
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Cafe & Rentable Space A key element in the success and reinvention of the Multi’s is the focus on how they meet the ground. The design of the ground floor draws ambition from the success of the Barbican’s amenities and engagement of public realm with the execution of Hawkins brown’s Parkhill. The proposed design reclaims the existing redundant space within the Hilltown Multi’s and removes the first-floor level of flats to create a double height ground floor space, and re-programmes the floor to host communal spaces such as a café, lounge, & short-term lease rent-able space for small businesses. All of which will provide a subsidy to the building running and maintenance costs, relieving strain on the council.
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Rentable Space Shopfront
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Providing a space to meet, socialise & hold events was integral element to this intervention retrofit. This space is an opportunity for the residents to form a hilltown collective and develop the communal living required for these blocks to be a sustainable typology. This multifaceted space will host all sort of activities daily and can be booked to host larger functions to the wider hilltown society - furthering the blocks intergration back into society. Outline Programmes entail: Cinema, performance, seminars & talks, degree shows, exhibitions, workshops, classes, yoga, climbing and more.
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Flat Diversity Diagram
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Diverse Occupancy The existing housing takes a “one size fits all” accommodation model which has no leeway for nuanced living. The current conditions and lack of variety in the one and two bed apartments has led to a concentration of a singular demographic, a contributor to the underlying social and political issues. The 1960’s flats are also spatially inadequate when compared to contemporary standards. The intervention revisits the concept of a vertical neighbourhood through the provision of an array of flat types, achieved through alterations to one and two bed housing, bringing them up-to and beyond recommended spatial standards with the implementation of 3 and 4 bed housing. Designed to cater to a wider and more diverse occupancy, encouraging the fundamental formation of a community and thus a vertical neighbourhood. The flats have been individually designed to accommodate contemporary lifestyles such as living and working and larger families with a focus on affordability to avoid gentrification and high cost of living. Three floor plans have been designed specifically to stack and overlap, these are then repeated to form the full block.
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In order to accommodate flat diversity and a range of occupancy models - a spatial upgrade was needed to provide the extra space. The intervention employs a south facade extension to create winter gardens. Achieved through a lightweight concrete column and waffle slab structure pinned back to the existing frame. The upgrade is multifaceted and serves to provide the extra space needed for diversity whilst also upgrading the light conditions and solar gain in the adjacent flats and accessing the view across the city. The design move is a facelift for the existing building and because of the prominence of the blocks - a facelift for Dundee. Section A-A
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Part Section C-C 1:50
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Fabric Intervention: 1. Removal of existing external render 2. Retain, repair and replace external insulation 3. New breather membrane 4. New aluminium frame for Rainscreen cladding - bolted to existing blockwork 5. Kingspan rainscreen panelling 6. Sealed existing balconies
Building Performance The existing building performance of the Hilltown Multi’s is sub-standard, poor-quality construction has led to a high concentration of damp and mould. This has directly impacted the health of residents and the leaky walls have poor heat retention, leading to notable levels of fuel poverty. This intervention has sought to combat these underlying issues through an environmental design of a new skin, which increases the thermal efficiency on the west, north and east walls with the addition of winter gardens on the south facade which offer great for solar gain. The project has employed efficiency software to model these alterations through parabolic design, testing the daylight levels, thermal comfort, and air tightness. The design removes the existing mould ridden external render and installs a new rainscreen system which aims to retain & repair the existing external insulation – allowing the walls to breathe mitigating the future build-up of mould and damp whilst improving the heat retention and thermal efficiency of walls. This coupled with triple glazed windows and sealing of existing external balconies & converting them to winter gardens, ultimately improves the airtightness of the flats and provides a reduction to the requirement to heat - mitigating the levels of fuel poverty within the blocks. The existing flats (one bed) sat between 8-12 degrees for 18 hours on average daily without the use of an active heating system. The modelled flats after intervention (one bed) improved the thermal comfort to 18-22 degrees for at least 18 hours per day without an active heating system. This ultimately reduces the requirement to heat and thus reduces cost and mitigates fuel poverty. The intervention extended openings and new flooring to provide an upgrade to light levels within all flats, the existing flats had a daylight factor of around 2.1% which was below the standards, the intervention upgraded the daylight factor to 4.6% on average.
North Facade Model
Wall Detail 1:10
