VOL9 ISSUE38 SUMMER 2019
C R EAT IVE E CON O MY : ADAPTIVE REUSE
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE HEALTH & WELLBEING PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
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I F TO AN ES
The concept of wellness has long been rising up the political agenda and with the enthusiastic embrace of the NHS such aspirations are now being realised by a new generation of medium-scale health centres which are seeking to bridge the gap between individual GP surgeries and hospitals. We take a look round two of the most recent at Woodside (pg34) and the Gorbals (pg40) to see how these principles are being put into practice. Elsewhere we look at how marginal buildings can be nursed back to life (pg13), putting a spring in the step of edge locations in the process. We speak with those on the frontline who are regenerating forgotten structures and we conclude with a tour of Edinburgh Printmakers (pg48). Further afield we visit the new Gazprom headquarters (pg62) in St Petersburg,
Russia. Standing proud as the tallest tower in Europe it is a legacy of the time when RMJM itself bestrode the world with, will architects at home ever reach such heights again? We also delve into the cutthroat world of open public commissions (pg70) to ask whether the systems underpinning procurement are delivering broader benefit and to find out where the truth lies. It is in the broadest pictures that we see most clearly and in that vein we bring you the nominees for this year’s Scottish Design Awards (pg82) together with the return of our in-depth landscape architecture (pg20) focus. Last but not least we catch-up with the Architecture Fringe (pg77) for its fourth year of activism. John Glenday, editor
PORCELANOSA PROJECTS 110 QUEEN STREET, GLASGOW KRION Solid Surface by PORCELANOSA. KRION® in Snow White For more information on projects please visit www.porcelanosa.com/uk
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CONT ENTS QUARTERLY DIGEST 13 ON THE MARGINS 20 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE 34 WOODSIDE HC 40 GORBALS HC 48 EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS 56 DESIGN POP-UP 62 LAKHTA CENTER 70 PUBLIC COMMISSIONS 77 ARCHITECTURE FRINGE 82 SCOTTISH DESIGN AWARDS 90 NEW ZEALAND 96 DIRECTORY 97 PRODUCTS 04
Cover image: Edinburgh Printmakers by Jim Stephenson
OUR EDITORIAL PANEL INCLUDES:
John Glenday
Mark Chalmers, architecture writer and photographer
Leslie Howson, director Urban Design
Thea McMillan, director, Chambers McMillan
Jonathan Reeve, architect, Voigt Partnership
Keri Monaghan, architect, Stallan-Brand
Alistair Scott, director, Smith Scott Mullan
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Q U A R T E R L Y D I G E S T A P R
BALLOCH GATEWAY Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park is in receipt of a £30m tourism masterplan for Lomond Banks, Balloch, which would include a variety of accommodation from hotel rooms, homes, a craft brewery, boathouse,
leisure centre and restaurants. Designed by Anderson Bell + Christie the scheme includes conservation work to the A-listed Woodbank House and creation of a ‘station square’ for those arriving by rail.
BRIEFS The MacDougall of Dunollie Preservation Trust has moved to build a museum store, shop and gallery space within a collection of B-listed abandoned steadings at Dunollie Castle, near Oban. Overseen by CP Architects, with support from conservation architect Barham Glen, the scheme encompasses an old byre, home, ruin and walled garden, all of which will be returned to use as a visitor hub for the attraction. The attraction will draw on the Medieval heritage of the surrounding landscape which predates the formation of Oban itself in the 18th century. A historic Galashiels church has been demolished after Borders Council gave its consent to a new build residential scheme by Camerons Architects and Cubby Construction. St Aidan’s Church on the junction of Gala Park and St Andrews Street had been earmarked for conversion under prior housing proposals but was subsequently demolished after these proved to be financially untenable.
LERWICK MASTERPLAN
GLASGOW GRID
Shetland Islands Council is to consult the public on a masterplan for Lerwick’s old high school, following the schools’ relocation to a new build campus. The Knab masterplan outlines how the site could accommodate up to 140 homes of a variety of types and tenure through a combination of new build and reuse of existing listed buildings in an effort to stem an outflow of young people.
Urban Innovations have prepared detailed plans for a statement 165-bed hotel rising 12 storeys above the junction of Old Wynd Street and Osborne Street, Glasgow. A hotel operator is already on board for the venture which will include a mid-level public terrace aligned with the prevailing street shoulder line, creating a street face before the main tower element.
LAID LOW Sanctuary Homes and Collective Architecture have worked up proposals to replace a high-rise housing estate at Burns Road, Cumbernauld. These will be replaced by 136 new build flats focused on a central roundabout, bordered by a feature crescent bookended by feature red zinc gables.
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HLM has been asked to lead the design team for a £65m advanced manufacturing facility hosted by the University of Strathclyde as the flagship build of a new innovation district near Glasgow Airport. The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland will draw together industry, academia and the public sector to explore new ways of improving productivity and skills. The University of Glasgow has showcased its vision for a nanotechnology and precision medicine campus in Govan, with the hope that work can begin within two years subject to funding. Designs drawn up by Gleeds for the £118.5m vision would see an area of derelict land close to the Clyde Tunnel to feed into a growing innovation quarter around the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
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Q U A R T E R L Y A P R D I G E S T BIGG PLANS
WHISKY GALORE
Bigg Regeneration (a joint venture between Scottish Canals and Places for People Capital) are bringing an innovative Dutch custom build model to new housing at Dundashill, Glasgow. Six invited practices; Haus, StallanBrand, McGinley Bell, Ann Nisbet Studio, JM and Mast Architects have each put forward their own speculative custom build solution for the hilltop site as part of an urban design framework penned by HTA Design and Rankin Fraser.
LDN Architects are to serve up a £6.5m distillery and visitor centre in the Highlands to capitalise on a whisky and tourism boom. Conceived by the Cabrach Trust the project will repurpose the abandoned Inverharroch Farm, Dufftown, to bring the areas historic role in the illegal whisky trade to wider attention.
THREE-WAY SPLIT Scottish Canals and Jacobs are to introduce a tri-directional cycle and footbridge at the Stockingfield Junction of the Forth & Clyde Canal to connect Gilsochhill, Maryhill and Ruchill via a single link.The new connection will be complemented by a dramatic pylon-style observation deck.
THISTLE FLOWERS Thistle, a charity dedicated to providing support for people with long-term health conditions, has advanced plans for a new community and wellbeing facility adjacent to its existing base in
Craigmillar, Edinburgh. New ‘Garden Rooms’ have been designed by 3DReid to offer a range of facilities better suited to community outreach and activities.
BRIEFS Aberdeen City Council has selected infrastructure specialists Balfour Beatty to bring forward a fabled £25.7m overhaul of Union Terrace Gardens. After numerous false starts work could finally begin in earnest on an LDA Design led scheme this summer to transform the sunken Victorian public space into a fully accessible amenity while retaining its distinctive heritage. An industrial estate in Linlithgow is to reposition itself as a sustainable business village with the introduction of flexible office space in a series of repurposed shipping containers. Project Contempo is being backed by SRA Ventures to the tune of £5m, with the aim of transforming the Mill Road Industrial Estate into an ecofriendly address. The retrofitted containers will include a mix of trade counters, a restaurant and café as well as a workshop and office space. North Lanarkshire Council has committed an additional £29.7m to kick-start revised Ravenscraig regeneration proposals to transform one of the largest brownfield sites in Europe. The 455-hectare development has been master planned by Cooper Cromar and will include five primary school’s, a seven-hectare town park and an extension to the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility. John O’Groats Mill Trust have won a £348k grant from the Scottish Land Fund to acquire a B-listed mill together with 9.5 acres of land to be developed as a visitor attraction and heritage centre. The trust has appointed McGregor Bowes to oversee the process of restoration and conversion with assistance from the Torrance Partnership, David Narro Associates and Rybka at what is believed to be the last mill in Caithness to retain working machinery
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Q U A R T E R L Y D I G E S T M A Y
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Yeoman McAllister Architects have won planning permission from East Lothian Council to create a 70-bed care home and 65-bed hotel in North Berwick led by Frontier Estates. The Tantallon Road project is situated
2km from the town centre at the foot of Berwick Law and is split between a traditionally styled care home and more contemporary styled hotel, each sharing a simple palette of brick, timber and render.
NEW FOUNTAINBRIDGE
AYR ACTION
Edinburgh’s ‘New Fountainbridge’ district has moved onto the delivery phase with McLaughlin & Harvey commencing work on a mixed-use development by Vastint Hospitality at the former brewery. Phase one has been designed by architects 3DReid to include 60,000sq/ ft of office space, a 262-room Moxy hotel and a new civic space lined by a restaurant, café and ground floor workspaces. Phase one will open in 2022.
South Ayrshire Council has devised an action plan to deliver a riverfront events space, leisure centre and improved public realm. The three-pronged strategy seeks to reinvigorate the town centre by opening up a recently cleared riverside site, once earmarked for a new council HQ, as a popup events space for markets, exhibitions and performances. Design teams will now be appointed to bring forward detailed plans prior to further consultations and eventual phased delivery through to 2023.
COLOUR CHART Ark Estates have brought forward plans to erect 11 flats within the Highland town of Dingwall, with designs by Oberlanders and CH Architecture. A vibrant colour palette of ochre yellow and ruby red render is planned to brighten up a drab corner of the town with extensive landscaping to surrounding streets centred on new block paving, planting and street furniture helping to further unify the development.
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BRIEFS A prominent office proposal for Glasgow’s Argyle Street has been radically reworked with a dramatic cross-braced steel and glass design supplanted with a simple masonry grid after planning officers requested ‘greater contextual awareness’. Cooper Cromar and Osborne + Co are again behind the latest vision which incorporates a setback building line on Robertson Street and rooftop cutbacks to create a tenth-floor landscaped terrace. Aberdeen Science Centre has asked Bancon Construction to begin work immediately on the transformation of granite tram sheds at Constitution Street to create its £3m new home, following a move to temporary premises on George Street. Architects Halliday Fraser Munro have overseen design work for the facility which will repurpose the existing Satrosphere building as an exhibition and corporate space by adding a new build extension and inserting a mezzanine level to double available floor space. It should open by spring 2020. McGinlay Bell Architects have stepped up to the challenge of converting a vacant Victorian office building for modern office use with proposals for a dramatic rooftop extension in the heart of Glasgow’s CBD. This would see a B-listed building on the corner of Renfield and St Vincent Street extruded upward by an additional two floors behind precast concrete columns erupting from the existing blond sandstone façade to accommodate 2,300sq/m of grade A office space. Highland Council has selected LDN Architects to carry forward the transformation of Inverness Castle into a set piece visitor destination andgateway to the Highlands. LDN were brought on board for their extensive conservation expertise.
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Q U A R T E R L Y M A Y D I G E S T DUMBARTON
MODEL COLONY
West Dunbartonshire Council is to consider plans to transform Dumbarton’s oldest building into a dedicated library, museum and community hub subject to consultation. The B-listed Glencairn House at Strathleven Place is currently sitting vacant but could be transformed under a £4.6m programme of restoration – complete with a four-storey rear extension overlooking the River Leven.
EMA Architects are to offer a fresh twist on traditional Edinburgh colony housing with the launch of the latest element of Waterfront Plaza by CALA Homes. A contemporary take on the historic building typology the new homes will adopt a contemporary approach, offering occupiers modern open plan living spaces combined with generous windows over three levels with each home given its own external staircase.
FUSION POWER
BRIEFS Izat Arundell Architects have brought forward proposals to repair Leith’s Bath Road through the reinstatement of housing on the site of a tenement property demolished in 1979. The resulting gap-site has been earmarked for six contemporary flats alongside an extension to a ground floor pub, spurred by continued regeneration of the Leith Docks area. Reiach & Hall Architects have finalised their competitionwinning proposals for the redevelopment of the Fruitamrket Gallery. Dubbed Open Out the plans entail a full renovation of the existing A-listed space while extending its footprint to accommodate additional gallery space and a learning suite to accommodate an influx of new artists, installations and performances in a 300sq/m double-height volume. HRI Munro Architecture has brought forward revised plans for eight mews-style serviced apartments in Inverness, a response to the growing demand for short-term accommodation in the Highland capital. A growing tourism sector and business need had spurred proposals for 16 serviced apartments at Ross House, a detached Victorian house within the central conservation area, but this was dismissed on the grounds of posing a detrimental impact to the conservation area.
The University of Edinburgh has progressed plans for a £20m hub building at its Kings Buildings campus to designs by Sheppard Robson and landscape designers Harrison Stevens. Nucleus forms part of a 2015 masterplan for the sprawling site which seeks to establish a signature ‘town centre’ hub building by 2022 to serve as a focal point for the university through the provision of a shared teaching, learning and administrative space.
The B-listed Hillhead Baptist Church in the heart of Glasgow’s West End conservation area has been earmarked for 30 flats in proposals drawn up by EMA Architecture and Design. Derived from a previously consented façade retention scheme from 2011 the latest plan is the product of a partnership between the church and Wemyss Properties which would see the congregation benefit from a new community facility.
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Q U A R T E R L Y D I G E S T J U N
CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY Glasgow City Council earmarks £25m of City Deal cash to fund a major overhaul of the north bank of the River Clyde between Victoria Bridge and Glasgow Bridge. The proposal would transform Custom
House Quay from a dysfunctional space into a multifunctional events corridor as part of vital structural measures to strengthen the current quay wall although a site start isn’t expected before 2022.
BRIEFS Glasgow creative hub SWG3 is in line for significant expansion following the submission of plans to create a rooftop restaurant, a workspace cluster and community garden. A masterplan prepared by Stallan-Brand would overhaul the popular event destination by rationalising the current space and maximising the utility of the current building and expanding its footprint across newly acquired land to the east and west. Clyde Gateway is to move on-site with a pair of twin office pavilions as the Rutherglen Links Business Park enters its second phase of delivery. Clark Contracts have been instructed to deliver the £4m Keppie designed project, which will offer a combined 15,000sq/ft of accommodation, offering space for close to 120 additional workers. Completion is anticipated by February 2020. Stallan-Brand have revisited the B listed Kingston House at Buchanan Wharf, Glasgow, after scrapping plans to retain only the building shell in favour of a less invasive ‘defurbishment’. Classed as alteration rather than refurbishment the new moves would strip back later additions to return the building to its original structure and layout, focused on cast iron columns and floor structure within an open-plan ground floor events space.
FIRST STEPS Stallan-Brand Architects have filed plans for an Early Years Centre in Glasgow city centre as a key plank of the practices Barclays masterplan in Tradeston. Situated on the westernmost boundary of the financial services hub the nursery would stand at the intersection of several key pedestrian routes including the squiggly bridge and riverfront promenade.
GLASS CEILING Glasgow’s riverfront is set for dramatic change with a vertigo-inducing proposal to erect a 20 storey hotel capped by a glazed rooftop restaurant - billed as a ’node point’ for Buchanan Street and St Enoch Square. Citihome by Young & Gault will be topped by a glass-floored cantilevered balcony, a piece of theatricality aimed at driving interest in the hotel.
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West of Scotland Housing Association has confirmed their intent to build 36 Passivhaus standard homes at Springfield Cross, Parkhead, later this year with a planning application declaring their intent. Occupying a brownfield site the homes would sit next to the Emirates Arena to a design by Robert Potter & Partners.
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Q U A R T E R L Y J U N D I G E S T HALLS OF RESIDENCE
MOSQUE OF LIGHT
BRIEFS Glasgow’s Dennistoun district is poised to inch further toward the city centre with a proposal for 252 one and two-bedroom flats on the site of the city’s former Bellgrove Meat Market, Duke Street. Designed by JTP on behalf of the Home Group the build would be situated on the northernmost slice of the 1.5-hectare brownfield site by stretching linearly along a traditional tenement-style frontage.
The University of St Andrews has taken possession of the second of a pair of HLM designed student halls at its North Haugh Campus following the handover of Whitehorn Hall last month. Providing 205 bedrooms Powell Hall takes the form of a three-sided u-shaped building arranged around a central quad and is finished in light buff solid masonry and light grey polished concrete cladding panels.
Glasgow’s oldest mosque is set to shine anew after a major refurbishment was given the green light by Glasgow City Council. Inkdesign are the architects behind ‘Masjid Noor Mosque’, otherwise known as the ‘Mosque of Light’, which will receive a 1309m² extension providing a new entrance and prayer hall which will glow as a ‘golden box’ by night.
Wheatley Group with CCG has lifted the wraps on 28 new homes at St Patrick’s Court, Coatbridge, a custom-built town centre development for people aged 55 and over with mobility issues. Comprising its own lift, accessible roof terrace and charging points for mobility scooters the Hypostyle design will enable tenants to maintain their independence in a stepfree environment. New Waverley developer Artisan Real Estate has handed over a key element of its masterplan for the area around d Edinburgh’s Waverley Station with completion of a UK government hub. Located within the Old Town World Heritage site the hub has been designed by Allan Murray Architects to provide 190,000sq/ft of floor space within two interlinked sandstone office buildings.
CAMMO ESTATE Edinburgh City Council has given the go-ahead to a 655-home development at Cammo Estate, to be delivered by CALA Homes and David Wilson Homes.
The development, designed by EMA Architects, includes 164 affordable homes in a mix of apartments, terraced homes, colonies as well as detached family homes.
Foster & Partners have brought forward their plans for a major mixed-use scheme at Haymarket in Edinburgh following the abandonment of a prior scheme by Richard Murphy Architects. Acting on behalf of new owners QMile Group and M&G Real Estate the practice seeks to replace the ‘void’ formed by the present gap-site with five new buildings grouped around a large public square.
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MARGINAL UTILITY
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JOHN GLENDAY
MARGINAL BUILDINGS FROM KINGSTON HOUSE, TRADESTON, TO MANY STUDIOS AT THE BARRAS ARE BEING GIVEN A NEW LEASE OF LIFE, TRANFORMING MARGINALISED INNER CITIES IN THE PROCESS. WE LOOK AT THE ADVANTAGES CONFERRED BY REUSE OVER REPLACEMENT BY PUTTING THESE BUILDINGS FRONT AND CENTRE WHERE THEY BELONG.
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MARGINAL UTILITY
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Above - Two decades of anguish at ovanhill Baths wiil finally be brought to a happy conclusion Bottom - A New Practice demonstrate what can be achieved with a minimal budget at Kinning Park Complex
As budgets shrink and suburbanisation runs its course a group of marginal buildings on the boundary where affluence and poverty meet are being reappraised in a new more sustainable light. We look at how marginal buildings are not only being brought back into productive use but are pointing the way ahead in terms of design, wellbeing and sustainability. From Govanhill Baths to Kinning Park community activism across Glasgow is helping to break down barriers between communities and the authorities and it is into this fraught frontline that a number of innovative new architects are emerging with ideas revitalise forgotten spaces. Becca Thomas, creative director of A New Practice (formerly Pidgin Perfect) is better than most at spotting diamonds in the rough, having labored hard to transform a disused market at Glasgow’s Barras while embodying principles of openness and collaboration. Sitting within Many Studios Thomas said: “The constraints of the existing building meant we created more interesting spaces. Given such a small amount of money it would have been impossible to create a new build on this scale. Even as a refurbishment it was extremely tight, so we had to spend money on the important things like the windows and insulation.”
This sparing approach recognises the line between regeneration and gentrification, repurposing the best elements of the sandstone block without alienating existing traders. Thomas said: “You don’t want to make those spaces overly expensive. There’s that line of regeneration in a positive and negative sense, both socially and financially. People who do not and will not set foot in an art gallery because it’s a scary place will want to see what’s going on and if they want to get your >
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MARGINAL UTILITY
Left - Kingston House will remain as a tanible link to the past within Barclays Tradeston campus Right - Modern additions will be stripped back to reveal the building in its full skeletal glory
attention you can meet them in a comfortable space on the street.” A key part of this openness lies in the use of language with Thomas mindful to avoid jargon and elitist terminology when communicating ideas: “If I’ve had one community member shout at me for using jargon I’ve had a million.” We felt that growing that way was more sustainable and then bring in architectural value with Many Studios as our first building. We haven’t gone down the traditional architecture route we still do artworks and community engagement as a core part of our service.” This fearlessness in doing things their own way has allowed A New Practice to avoid being pigeon-holed, and it has assembled a diverse group of product, interior and graphic designers to tackle a broad but related set of challenges in-house. As Thomas says: “It’s all about design and people, if we get that right we’re doing ok”. Many Studios exemplifies this idealism by keeping things simple, partly through choice URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
and partly by necessity, as when ironwork and brick walls are exposed while inserting standard 2.4m timber kit partitions. Thomas continued: “The way we had to build means nothing in here is precious except the equipment tenants bring with them. So we can attach things to walls, it doesn’t matter. Everything is a working space; it doesn’t matter if you throw paint at a wall.” Playing its part in the wellness and wellbeing agenda, this openness extends to the practice’s project at Kinning Park Complex, where vital work to upgrade the windows and roof of the community centre is required without breaking the bank. Thomas remarked: “The building has a particular aesthetic, in that sense the building has created its own ecosystem and we don’t want to ruin that. It won’t be a white cube box when we finish with it, but it also can’t be too posh. It can’t have all that soul stripped out of it.” Taken over by the community back in 1996 following a 55day occupation the council agreed to allow its users to manage
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the building ‘temporarily’ in exchange for a peppercorn rent and they are still going strong. Thomas said: “As a community they’ve managed to maintain the space in a useable state for 20 years which is quite an incredible achievement. They’ve changed from a community interest company to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). They’ve managed to hold on long enough so that legislation has emerged to allow them to buy the building and develop plans for the long-term.” This work puts A New Practice in good stead for one of their biggest commissions to date, Barclays new Tradeston campus which seeks to drag the city centre south of the River Clyde in one fell swoop. “It’s very different for us because we’re working within a space provided to us’ says Thomas. “The work there is about trying to make connections to the river by making it a place you would go to even if you’re not a Barclay’s member of staff. There will be a range of retail, cafes and active travel routes.
Barclays deserve praise for embracing the almost Victorian concept of building a city within a city for their workers but is there a danger of a creeping Canary Wharf style privatization of public space? Thomas responded: “Depending on how Barclays security teams work the aim is to have these areas unpoliced but have the option to introduce policing if there is a need for it. The conversations we’ve been having is that it needs to be a public through route, it can’t feel closed off. You might have gates which you can shut if there is a threat but they shouldn’t be visible in your day to day experience. As a citizen of Glasgow I wouldn’t want to feel I was entering a private space, it would be much nicer to enter a landscaped route and it would be much nicer to balance the two.” The success of this approach at home is already opening doors further afield with the practice securing a desk space in trendy Shoreditch as a springboard for extending their vision to London. “Getting on the mayors design panel/framework >
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MARGINAL UTILITY
Left - Glasgow’s Barras is pursuing its own brand of regeneration, skirting the pitfalls of gentrification Right - Heavy public investment in public realm is improving the quality of place
has been very useful. We’ve had a number of invited tenders in response to that”, says Thomas. A presence in the capital also gives Many a foothold within the UK’s most cut-throat market. With a finger on the pulse of those changes Rab Bennetts, director of Bennetts Associates, said: “The workplace is changing rapidly as the occupier generation gets younger and tastes become far more diverse. Few people (especially startups or SMEs) want long leases and ‘smart’ corporate office space these days, whereas characterful existing buildings often have more stimulus and the environmental benefits are pretty obvious. Property owners (at least in London) are seeing a new type of workspace that is part hotel, part office, part cultural offering, with a management service that fosters shared resources. Might this work in Glasgow?” Returning to Glasgow the long-running saga of Govanhill Baths provides plenty of ammunition for those arguing that short-sightedness is often the biggest contributor to missed and lost opportunities, with a report by the Glasgow City Heritage Trust suggesting that listed buildings in working class districts are not treated with the same respect as those in more prosperous areas. Despite such headwinds Govanhill Baths Community Trust are now within touching distance of a sensitive reimagining by Hall Black Douglas and conservation URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
architect Alistair Coey. Bristling at the suggestion that the baths closure was due to a lack of public money trust manager Fatima Uygun told Urban Realm: “It’s got nothing to do with money, it’s about political will and commitment. We’re one of the richest countries in the world, the idea that we don’t have money is nonsense. It’s not a cost, it’s an investment. The language has changed so much in the last 20 years, it’s shifted from investments all the way to cost and it’s a very neo-liberal way of thinking and it’s very alien to how Glasgow talks about investment in communities.” Govanhill Baths was always much more than just a building but what effect has the building had on the community? Uygun said: “Govanhill Baths served a range of purposes in terms of the health and wellbeing of the area. It was the place you went to get away from your family and have a hot bath. It served a much broader purpose than the sport of swimming. The steamie at the back where you could wash your clothes was like a small social work department where women could chat. People met their girlfriends there or went swimming with their dad or grandpa, it’s very difficult to measure the impact these buildings have by just looking at the bricks and mortar.” That history is reflected in todays approach for a varied
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suite of uses, including a range of social and public initiatives which communicate the larger purpose of the building. It is also a good news story for Govanhill which so often finds itself in the press for all the wrong reasons. Is the Baths campaign an important tool for promoting a positive message? “We need buildings like this where people can socialise where they would not normally do so”, says Uygun. “If you don’t drink in the pub and the weather’s not great and you can’t go to the park where do you actually meet people and come across people you don’t normally associate with? It’s in buildings like this where people turn up to take part in activities. “That accessibility where everyone can feel ownership of the building means that interaction happens so much more naturally. A lot of the investment happens all over the country to integrate people and promote diversity and its usually a lost cause because it’s not directed anywhere but having a building like this makes it so much more natural. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, trans or Muslim, Jewish, you’re here to use the sauna. For us it’s the best form of integration and community cohesion that exists but it’s taken us 18 years to argue that. We’ve had to fight and fight and fight and the majority of people who shut the pool down would have loved for us to give up rather than show that they’d made the wrong decision. We still haven’t had a reason for its closure.”
While positive about Govanhill Uygun is less sanguine about the growing number of community asset transfers elsewhere, warning that it unfairly burdens poorer communities, saddling them with a large building to maintain. “In years to come I think many of these asset transfers will have to be sold back to the council or put into private hands. Expecting communities with very little experience to refurbish listed buildings and run them for a profit isn’t going to happen. Even we will require some sort of subsidy to keep the building going.” While progress is being made the baths aren’t scheduled to reopen for a further two years, fully 20 years after closing but Uygun remains optimistic about the future, saying: “The great thing about Glasgow is these buildings can still be saved, they’re falling down in some places but can be refurbished. Look at Europe for god’s sake. Europeans come to Glasgow and the first thing they say is ‘why are things falling down? Why don’t you look after your buildings?’” As the city grows the need to reappraise edge locations will only grow with it, pushing successive forgotten spaces back into the spotlight. Rather than starting from scratch with a blank sheet these marginal spaces prove that the best approach lies in maximising the potential of what we already have.
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OUR REGULAR LOOK AT OUTDOOR DESIGN LANDS THIS SUMMER WITH A FOCUS ON GROWING CLIMATE CONCERN. JUST HOW IS GROWING AWARENESS OF THE ISSUE IMPACTING PRACTICES, CLIENTS AND THE PUBLIC AT LARGE? WE ASSEMBLE LEADING VOICES IN THE FIELD TO GIVE THEIR VIEWS ON WHERE THE PROFESSION IS HEADED.
The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospital for PPWH by erz URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Kevin Jones Senior Landscape Architect erz What has been your standout achievement of the past year? 2018/19 has been a standout year for erz, with the main achievements being the completion of Dunoon Waterfront and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. These are both large scale, high quality public realm projects that the practice has been working on for a number of years. It is great to finally see them complete and on the way to becoming well used and highly valued spaces. To add to this, we are delighted that the Hospice has been shortlisted for a Scottish Design Award! How are landscape architects responding to a changing climate? The landscape architecture profession is ideally placed to use our skills as practitioners to help clients deliver projects which can minimise or mitigate the effects of the climate emergency. The need to address a changing climate runs through our work at all scales. Strategic level green infrastructure plans make the best use of site conditions, setting a framework for developments with sustainability as a defining principle, not an afterthought. At the opposite end of the scale, good landscape architects can bring this same rigour of thought to the design of spaces and specification of hard landscape and plant materials. What must change to improve the delivery of quality landscape architecture? Procurement and commissioning processes can have a significant impact on the quality of a project. The mistakes that have the greatest detrimental impact on the quality of public spaces can often be made before a landscape architect is even appointed. It seems to be an increasing problem that projects are tendered through a process or framework that favours large companies over suitable experience or even relevant qualifications. We have seen public realm projects being sent out to architects with the landscape architect services being relegated to a support role. This approach does not work to the skills of differing professions and does not represent best value for the client or result in successful projects. >
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LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
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Kesson Court Amenity Communal Garden by rankinfraser
Chris Rankin Partner rankinfraser landscape architecture What has been your standout achievement of the past year? Our most exiting new commission over the past year has to remain under wraps for now unfortunately but it involves working in England on a Grade 1 Listed Georgian designed landscape and Unesco World Heritage site. Closer to home our involvement in the regeneration of Western Harbour in Leith with 7N Architects is a remarkable opportunity to design not only a significant new city park but also to work on a large scale public realm infrastructure project. 2018 also saw the completion of City Campus for the City of Glasgow College which was to date the largest and most complex construction project we have been involved in. It is very satisfying to see the new park being used so well by the staff, students and the people of Glasgow. How are our cities landscape needs evolving? Cities need high quality landscapes more than ever to help
address what sometimes seems like the insurmountable twin challenge of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Intelligently designed spaces can go some way to arresting the extremes of weather we will experience in the future, provide habitats for vital insect and bird life, aid the provision of clean water and more locally produced food. As more people live in cities than ever before the need for open spaces to provide respite, relief and physical exercise is increasingly vital. In a modest way the regeneration of DundasHill that we are working on seeks to address some of these challenges. Tina Muldowney Director, Landscape Architecture LUC What has been your standout achievement of the past year? Moving to LUC (of course!). I recently joined the Edinburgh office to lead landscape design, grow the team and build upon the ever growing Glasgow design team portfolio. This will create a really strong Scottish Design Hub and we have already >
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Inverness Access and Environmental Improvement Strategy by LUC
won some exciting commissions in Edinburgh. I am really looking forward to the next year ahead as I reconnect with clients and colleagues to deliver some really great projects. Should greenbelts be held as sacrosanct? No. I appreciate I am likely to be in the minority but provided we can demonstrate highest quality sustainable development and the right kind of project, I believe that there are opportunities within the greenbelt. Of course there needs to be a greater level of scrutiny and restrictions in the same way as there would be for any designated site but I believe the right development in the right place can be justified. What must change to improve the delivery of quality landscape architecture? Budgets! Working closely with our clients, contractors and other design professionals to ‘Ring-fence’ landscape budgets at project outsets would help to ensure a higher quality project is realised… and save us the pain of frequent ‘Value Engineering’. We also need to embrace the culture of working collaboratively with other design professionals and draw upon each other’s skill sets rather than defend territory. This ethos of shared working to agreed budgets ultimately delivers the best outcomes. Mike Harrison Director HarrisonStevens How are landscape architects responding to a changing climate? We refer to our proposals as ‘long-term’ and ‘legacy’. However, the impact of climate change and our abilities to limit the detrimental impact on our world is immediate. We URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
are in a position where our proposals can often offset the impact of others. However, we can do more to ensure there is a collaborative approach to identify a projects potential impact and mitigation. HarrisonStevens has partnered with the B1G1 movement which aligns Business for Good with the UN SDGs. For our tenth-year anniversary, our clients and collaborators have set us ten challenges many of which focus on climate change impacts. How are our cities landscape needs evolving? At the WHO Making Place 2019 Glasgow Conference, the discussion focused on Healthy Cities, Inclusivity and Accessibility. HarrisonStevens’ presentation focused on an asset positive approach, on empowerment and community enabling. Recent participatory projects in Kincardine, Moffat, Wester Hailes, Clovenstone, Fort Augustus and the Roseburn Link seek to establish healthy and active infrastructure within towns. Creating safe and integrated networks, connecting work, play and home, and establishing green and biodiverse corridors directly into the heart of our cities. HarrisonStevens focus on accessibility, inclusive design, healthy options, positive mindset, active travel and an adaptable response to the needs of the aging population. What must change to improve the delivery of quality landscape architecture? An appreciation of the fourth dimension within which we work. We observe regularly that a newly completed building will look its best, then weather as time progresses. While the landscape setting requires time to establish, it is necessary to invest in management and maintenance. Why then do so few projects take this seriously? Lack of aftercare is so often the downfall of successful projects. Neglect is not shy in taking hold. An award-winning landscape can quickly be
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Left - Calton Hill City Observatory by HarrisonStevens Right - Time for a brew. Visitors enjoy the garden of the Hawkhead Centre by Ian White Associates Landscape Architects
taken over by weeds, lose large numbers of trees, hedges and shrubs, due to a lack of maintenance. Our profession must better articulate the value of investment into consistent management. Nick Bowen Director Ian White Associates Landscape Architects What has been your standout achievement of the past year? Achieving Building with Nature Excellent, for New Brunstane Landscape Masterplan & Design Code and the Larbert Woods project. This new assessment process for green infrastructure recognises the value of a multi-functional landscape network, with particular attention given to the quality of placemaking. Achieving the highest level of accreditation for both of our projects gives us reassurance that our approach and processes are working to deliver resilient, beautiful, multi-functional landscapes that play their part in a more sustainable way of living. How are landscape architects responding to a changing climate? Through designing our landscapes to be multi-functional, we
can both reduce the amount of climate-changing emissions and also create resilience to the impacts of climate change. Within urban areas, creating absorbent areas of vegetation and soils we can reduce albedo, improve natural cooling of air and surfaces, and manage rainwater events within a natural system rather than causing polluting runoff into overloaded sewers and downstream flooding. If we also weave attractive green travel routes through these landscape networks we can help people to move to a lower carbon lifestyle and better health. Win : win! What must change to improve the delivery of quality landscape architecture? Now is a period of great opportunity, as the urgent imperative to de-carbonise our society takes centre stage. We must consider our actions as designers and managers of land through this prism; there are new skills and priorities for us to learn and adapt to. We must engage clients so that they enjoy the creative journey and are well-informed about design, processes and product. Only by making convincing, evidence-based argument for the multi-functional benefits of quality landscape architecture can we secure support for our design, weather the process of value engineering, and encourage clients to invest in resilient, sustainable landscapes for the future. >
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Living Walls at University of Edinburgh’s Easterbush Campus by LDA Design
Joanne Walker Associate LDA Design How are our cities landscape needs evolving? Climate change is already having a profound effect on our society and the landscape profession has long been at the forefront of climate action by designing and promoting the creation of adaptive and resilient places. At LDA Design, we believe passionately in landscape as a fundamental building block of place: it is what connects people and place. The environment and goals of sustainable development are critical-ly important, and central to our work. This year LDA Design is marking its 40th anniversary. Over the year, the practice has been reflecting on defining moments and celebrating the power of landscape. It has been fascinating hearing how the focus of the practice has shifted through 40 years. At different times, ecology, landscape evaluation, EIA or development planning have come to the fore. More recently, it is public health, climate change and equitable places. But there is always one continuum: people. How are landscape architects responding to a changing climate? The need to stop climate breakdown is now indisputable and there are many ways in which Landscape Architects can play a contributing role in helping to both achieve this URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
goal and alleviate the adverse effects we are already seeing. Multifunctional landscapes have the ability to provide food, energy, water management and flood mitigation as well as providing a valuable resource for biodiversity. Well-connected green infrastruc-ture provides both wildlife corridors for species migration and wider benefits for community inter-action, recreation, sustainable food production and place making. Reducing our dependence on the car by providing safe, walkable neighbourhoods and cycling networks is imperative if we want to re-duce our society’s carbon footprint. What must change to improve the delivery of quality landscape architecture? The importance and long-term benefits of green infrastructure are fundamental to improve the quality of development and its sense of place. High quality landscape must be integrated from the outset of every new development and recognised as crucial to its success, not as an afterthought. Through our training and expertise, Landscape Architects are well positioned to provide holistic approaches to the planning and management of the built environment and we have the ability to help address the environmental, social and economic challenges which face us all. These vital skills need to be employed at the earliest possible opportunity in the design and delivery of projects to ensure a sustainable future for both people and places.
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21 James Morrison Street, Glasgow, G1 5PE Tel: 0141 552 0888 Email: info@erzstudio.co.uk Web: www.erzstudio.co.uk Twitter: @ERZStudio Year of Incorporation: 2007 No. of total staff: 10
Dunoon Waterfront Public Realm Dunoon has been transformed by an erz-designed set of civic and parkland spaces on its historic seafront. A vibrant coastal town and gateway to the Loch Lomond National Park, Dunoon, is set in the spectacular Firth of Clyde. The town was a key destination for holiday-makers from Glasgow but has declined considerably since the mid twentieth century. The ferry infrastructure sprawled to dominate the waterfront: Dunoon was disconnected from its coastal setting by an empty sea of tarmac. erz established a three-strand design attack on the dominance of the car: 1. We created a sense of arrival by ferry by realigning roads to open up an axial view between the town centre and pier. 2. We reclaimed the sea of tarmac as people space, by extending adjacent parkland into the streetscape 3. We stitched the town back together with new civic spaces creating a new waterfront plaza and gateway to Dunoon. The scheme is carefully detailed, with robust materials and recurring geometry. The distinctive and playful forms respond to the joyful history of Dunoon as a place for holidays. The scheme reclaims ‘lost space’ and creates a contemporary, flexible public realm. Our client, Argyll & Bute Council, stated that erz have “created a beautiful gateway into Dunoon and the wider Cowal area to the National Park beyond.”
erz is one of Scotland’s largest and best-established specialist teams of landscape architects. We offer landscape design, urbanism and landscape strategy services, meaning that our built work is always undertaken in the context of neighbourhood and place. We are recognised for innovative work and have extensive experience in the delivery of exemplary projects for our clients. Our work includes; health and care, education, master-planning, public realm, streetscape, public art, placemaking, consultation, integrated green infrastructure and reinvigoration of historic landscapes. We have received recognition for our work through numerous awards, including RIBA, Landscape Institute and Scottish Design Awards. Recent completed projects: • Dunoon Waterfront public realm, Argyll • Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, Glasgow • Inverclyde Association for Mental Health, Greenock • The Playful Garden at Brodie Castle, Moray • Dalmuir Square, Glasgow • Newcraigs Hospital, Inverness • Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh Awards: • Shortlisted, Scottish Design Awards 2019, for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice • Highly Commended, Landscape Institute Awards 2018, for the Royal Edinburgh Hospital • Winner, Health Building Award, Scottish Design Awards 2018, for Broomhill Gardens, IAMH Greenock (with INCH) • Highly Commended, Scottish Design Awards 2018 (with Hoskins Architects) for the Playful Garden and Visitor Centre
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11 South Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4AS Beehive Lofts, Beehive Mill, Jersey Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6JG Tel: +44 131 226 2672 Email: hello@harrisonstevens.co.uk Web: www.harrisonstevens.co.uk Twitter: @HSLimited Year of Incorporation: 2010 No. of total staff: 15 Excellence, innovation, and integrity ensure that HarrisonStevens is consistently delivering robust, high quality, costeffective external environments. Valued unique places are crafted through excellent design; they respond to context and are people focused. The places we create improve the health and wellbeing of the community within which they influence. Our philosophy is embedded in the social and cultural history of the place. Primarily informed by context, natural processes and aspired use. The environments sustain ecological habitats, enhancing biodiversity. A place is nurtured beyond simply a collection of spaces. It is self-sufficient, ecologically, socially and economically providing a long-term legacy. Recent Projects & Awards: Newcastle Cathedral; Edinburgh College of Art Campus; Wavegarden, Ratho, Commended in the Scottish Design Awards 2018; University College Dublin; Fletton Quays, Peterborough; Moffat High Street; Kincardine Community Links; Fort Augustus Canal Side; Pentland Bike Trails; Roseburn to Union Canal Link; George Street, Glasgow; and Dundas Street, Edinburgh.
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Common Ground in Sacred Space, Newcastle Cathedral The Common Ground in Sacred Space at Newcastle Cathedral will deliver an exciting and sustainable future to an incomparable historic building. The aim of the project is to significantly raise the profile of the Cathedral. The focus for the external works is to the south and east churchyard, where the proposals will create a series of high quality, accessible and engaging public spaces. Aiming to celebrate heritage, people and the communities who have played their part in the history of the site and the city. Newcastle Cathedral has been awarded HLF funding allowing the full project aspirations to be realised.
Calton Hill City Observatory Situated within a World Heritage Site, the Calton Hill project encompasses the redevelopment of existing buildings – The City Dome, The 1818 Playfairdesigned City Observatory and Transit House, as well as a new Contemporary Art Gallery and restaurant within the walled garden. Working with the joint clients, Collective Gallery and the City of Edinburgh Council, HarrisonStevens developed a strong concept design ‘story’ around a perambulatory route and the historic connection with constellations and planetary orbits. The site team and dedication to this critical part of Edinburgh’s cultural heritage saw the Collective Gallery and wider project open at the end of 2018.
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3A Forrest Road, Stirling FK8 1UH Tel: 01786 446446 Email: nick@iwastirling.co.uk Web: iwastirling.com Twitter: @iwastirling Year of Incorporation: 2011 No. of total staff: 10
The Beithir’s Lair If you go down to the woods today … a Hugmahush or Bampot could give you a big surprise! This playful landscape built for the village of St Fillans in the National Park provides exercise for the body, mind and imagination. Track the secretive faeries through the woods, learn the signs of creatures natural and fantastical, imagine yourself in the ancient stronghold of Dundurn or an eyrie commanding Loch Earn. Years of work by the community and project team has created this unique response to the beauty and interest of the local landscape, weaving bespoke play equipment, natural features, willow structures, furniture and artwork amongst the oak trees, raspberry and bluebells. We designed and managed delivery, engaging a range of contractors, artists and craftsmen. The Hawkhead Centre Our new gardens for The Scottish War Blind day centre are designed to be fully accessible and to offer a wide range of sensory and practical opportunities for those benefitting from the care and activities this charity offers. An opportunity to use the sensory power of plants, therapeutic value of gardening and the pleasure of sitting out amongst plants, with friends and a mug of tea in hand. Raised planters allow all to participate in gardening, whilst features aid memory, encourage wildlife and assist comfortable movement of the visually impaired. The principles used here when applied to our urban environment can allow us all to live fulfilled lives, free of unwelcome barriers.
We create and guide the management of elegant, enduring, delightful places for those who live, work and play in them, because multifunctional landscapes are vital to a just, prosperous and sustainable nation. We enjoy a thoughtful and collaborative approach with colleagues and clients, together realizing durable, delightful and rich places that provide a legacy of habitats for people and nature. Experienced in successful design and delivery of green infrastructure masterplanning, public realm, rural and visitor destinations, education, health, sensitive landscapes and LVIA. Registered practice of The Landscape Institute, accredited to CHAS, Constructionline and ISO9001:2015. Recent projects & awards: Building with Nature Excellent Award for New Brunstane Landscape Masterplan; Scottish Quality in Planning Award for Snow Roads Scenic Route.
Top - The Beithir’s Lair play landscape at St Fillans Bottom Left - Growing vegetables in the accessible garden of the Hawkhead Centre Bottom Right - New Brunstane Landscape Masterplan achieved Candidate Excellent through the Building with Nature accreditation. Client : EDI Group. Location : Edinburgh.
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37 Otago Street, Glasgow G12 8JJ Tel: 0141 334 9595 Email: Glasgow@landuse.co.uk 3rd Floor, Atholl Exchange, 6 Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG Tel: 0131 202 1616 Email: Edinburgh@landuse.co.uk Web: www.landuse.co.uk Twitter: @LUCtweeting Year of Incorporation: 1966 No. of total staff: 160 LUC is an award-winning environmental consultancy providing planning, impact assessment, landscape design and ecology services to a wide range of public and private sector clients. We are a team of over 150 skilled professionals, united by a determination to achieve sustainable development on behalf of our clients. We are passionate about the power of good planning and landscape design; working to improve the lives of communities across the UK and beyond since our very first project over 50 years ago. We care about the legacy we leave and hope to make a real difference through the work we do. Awards: 2019 • Family Friendly Working Scotland, Best for Flexible Recruitment • RTPI Planning Consultancy of the Year 2019 2018 • LABC Central Awards, Wycombe Abbey Boarding Houses • BusinessGreen Leaders Awards, Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm, Renewable Energy Project of the Year • Civic Voice Design Awards, Calverley Adventure Grounds • Scottish Design Awards, Claypits Masterplan • Living Waterways Awards, Woodside, Firhill & Hamiltonhill Development Framework • Landscape Institute Awards, The Restoration of Cassiobury Park • Landscape Institute Awards, Landscape Sensitivity and Green Infrastructure Study for Leicester and Leicestershire, Highly Commended • BALI National Landscape Awards, Calverley Adventure Grounds, Principal Winner URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
Inverness Access and Environmental Improvement Strategy LUC is working with Scottish Canals, Sustrans and other local stakeholders to prepare an access and environmental improvement strategy for the Caledonian Canal as it passes through Inverness. Regarded as an underutilised asset, the canal has potential to improve citywide connectivity and provide a significant city destination for local residents as well as visitors and tourists. Informed by extensive stakeholder consultation, the study included an appraisal of existing access connections to and from the canal corridor as well as the identification of new access points. The project has extended to include outline design proposals for strategic access and environmental priorities, taking cognisance of the heritage sensitivity of the canal infrastructure which is designated as a Scheduled Monument. LUC is collaborating with LDN Architects on the delivery of Carse Hub, a community focused watersports facility that will be located on the canal bank at Muirtown Basin. LUC is responsible for the detailed design of access and environmental improvements for the development as well as the wider access connectivity to and from the development site. LUC‘s involvement in the overall project will continue through to 2020.
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EXPLORE
PLAY
Sovereign House, 158 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 4RL Tel: 0141 222 9780 Email: hello@lda-design.co.uk Web: www.lda-design.co.uk Twitter: @LDADesign Year of Incorporation: 1979 No. of total staff: 161
LEARN
Langlee Primary School Location: Galashiels Client: Borders Council Photographer: Andrew Lee
Easterbush Campus Location: Roslin Client: University of Edinburgh Photographer: Tom Manley
Broomlands Primary School Location: Kelso Client: Borders Council Photographer: Andrew Lee
Wick Joint Campus and Wick Noss Primary School Location: Wick Client: The Highland Council Sketches by LDA Design Ayrshire College Kilmarrnock Campus Location: Kilmarnock Client: Ayrshire College Photographer: Graeme Duncan
Learning Landscapes LDA Design has worked on a broad range of play and learning environments for a range of primary, secondary, further and higher educational establishments including the RIAS Award Winning Broomlands Primary School in Kelso, Langlee Primary School in Galashiels and two schools in Wick; Wick Joint Campus and Wick Noss Primary School. The award winning scheme for Broomlands was applauded for the seamless integration of “flexible” teaching spaces with direct access to external play areas and the mature landscaped grounds. The use of planting and retention of existing woodland has an immediate positive impact upon arrival and helps settle the distinctive building into its semi-rural and wooded landscape context. Our plans for the external space offer a range of diverse and engaging spaces that extend the educative activity into the external environment, using playful elements to bring surprise and delight. When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributes significantly to raising standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development and at both Wick Noss Primary and Wick Joint Campus, we created a number of outdoor teaching spaces within courtyards and in environmental areas, including a wetland areas that provide an additional outdoor learning space and educational resource.
We are LDA Design, an independent consultancy of urban designers, landscape architects and planners working together to connect people and place through landscape. For 40 years, we have held true to a single mission: to create great places and shape the world around us for the better. Our origins lie in landscape architecture, and this strengthens the services we offer. We follow the principles of first life, then spaces, then buildings. Whether the project is a park, a port or a new urban district, we focus on the needs and hopes of the people affected. We are green infrastructure pioneers. Recent Projects & Awards: • 2019 – George Street New Town ACE Winner: Strategic Planning and Placemaking Champion • 2018 - UCL East Planning Awards: Highly Commended, Stakeholder Engagement in Planning • 2018 - Alto Apartments, Wembley RESI Awards 2018: Winner, Development of the Year • 2018 - Brompton Cemetery Museum + Heritage Awards 2018: Winner, Restoration or Conservation • 2018 - Big Data Institute, University of Oxford RIBA South East Award 2018: Winner • 2017 - Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon The Engineer Awards 2017: Winner, Energy, Efficiency and Sustainability
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rankinfraser
landscape architecture
8 Darnaway Street, Edinburgh EH3 6BG Tel: 0131 226 7071 Email: mail@rankinfraser.com Web: rankinfraser.com Year of Incorporation: 2008 No. of total staff: 9 We seek to design landscapes that are rooted in their cultural, social and spatial context regardless of scale. We believe in the timeless beauty of simplicity, often referencing Dieter Rams 10 Principles of Good Design; especially the maxim that, “Good design is as little design as possible”. In the context of designing landscapes this translates into an approach that prioritises the importance of site along with a detailed and thorough understanding of the components that constitute the character of the place. Building upon this research and understanding we seek to combine a tectonic approach that focuses on careful material selection and detailing with a strategic understanding of the wider landscape character. Recent Projects & Awards: • AJ Retrofit Awards 2018 Winner Dunbar Battery • Scottish Design Awards 2018 Winner City of Glasgow College City Campus • Landscape Institute Awards 2018 Highly Commended Dunbar Battery • AJ Architecture Awards 2018 Finalist City of Glasgow College City Campus • Scottish Civic Trust Awards 2018 Commended Dunbar Battery • Civic Trust Awards 2018 Regional Finalist Dunbar Battery • Scottish Design Awards 2017 Winner Fasque Estate Masterplan • AJ Architecture Awards 2017 Winner Dunbar Battery • AR New into Old Awards 2017 Shortlisted Dunbar Battery • Scottish Design Awards 2016 Winner Garden for Maggie’s Lanarkshire • Landscape Institute Awards 2016 Highly Commended Garden for Maggie’s Lanarkshire
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Western Harbour Park, Leith Client: Edinburgh Forthside Developments Ltd The 4.7ha Western Harbour Park is a key component of the regeneration of the Port of Leith. rankinfraser landscape architecture were appointed in 2018 to develop the design of the park, first proposed in the 2004 masterplan for Western Harbour. The park once complete will provide a much needed green space for the proposed 2000 new homes as well as the existing residents that have moved to this developing area of Edinburgh. The park design marries a response to significant technical constraints with a site specific approach to creating useable outdoor spaces in an exposed coastal environment. A simple landscape framework of avenues and bosquets frame a series of outdoor rooms of varying size from expansive fields to enclosed and protected play spaces. The distribution of the programme across the site was guided by the engineering constraints posed by historic and more recent infilling of the port. This creates an activity zone along the western edge that accommodates outdoor space for the adjacent proposed school, formal and informal play areas and future growing space. In contrast the crescent edge is planted as informal woodland with species proposed to promote biodiversity, create shelter and enhance Edinburgh’s large tree cover.
INVERNESS HERITAGE TRAIL
WALK THIS WAY The Inverness Heritage Trail Project is primarily about greater accessibility to the Inverness port area as a destination and active travel corridor. TGP were commissioned by the Port of Inverness with Sustrans funding to develop public realm and active travel design proposals at the National Cycle Route to the north of the city centre at Shore Street, Cromwell Road and Longman Drive in Inverness. There are a number of other active travel projects in and around Inverness, which are in close proximity to the Inverness Heritage Trail. These include several projects embedded as part of the Inverness City Active Travel Network (West Link active travel infrastructure, Inverness Railway Station cycle parking infrastructure, Safer Routes to School interventions). The design objectives underpinning the project are new pedestrian/ cyclist orientated public realm and green infrastructure that offer coherency and flexibility to create a safe and more balanced streetscape environment. The proposed improvements to the public realm will increase the attractiveness of the port area as a destination for workers, residents and visitors alike. In addition, design proposals include public realm enhancements at Cromwell Tower as part of wider proposals to draw out the heritage assets of the port area and create a visitor orientated trail experience. TGP developed ideas to create unique spaces along the route, including gateways with improved legibility and interventions with the
introduction of bespoke public realm features, green infrastructure and way-marking. Critical to ensuring the project delivers real improvements to the port area and how users engage with the various facilities available to them, was an extensive programme of engagement with the public. In addition to the public exhibitions, a Commonplace project web page was launched early this year to understand the user group and public needs, the continuation of this tool as an engagement platform will allow progressive feedback from the public and allow the design team to share the evolving proposals.
Email: info@tgp.uk.com Project Web link: https://invernessheritagetrailmap.commonplace.is/
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WOODSIDE HEALTH CENTRE JOHN GLENDAY
THREE PO I NT P L AN
AS THE WELLNESS AGENDA ADVANCES FROM THE DRAWING BOARD TO REALITY URBAN REALM VISITS SOME PIONEERING EXAMPLES OF A NEW BREED OF ONE-STOP-SHOP PATIENT SERVICES WHICH SEEK TO ENHANCE CARE PROVISION. WE BEGIN OUR JOURNEY AT THE LATEST OF THESE, WOODSIDE, WHICH PROMISES TO TRIANGULATE PATIENT CARE VIA AN INNOVATIVE THREEPRONGED APPROACH TO REGENERATION, NEIGHBOURHOOD CARE AND WELLBEING.
Amid ongoing criticism of failures at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde are delivering new health centres across the city from Parkhead to Greenock and Clydebank. The latest of these, Page\Park’s Woodside Health Centre near Maryhill, is a direct replacement for an outdated 1970s facility that takes the opportunity to draw together a community addictions unit and elderly daycare centre, providing a one-stop-shop for primary and community care services that are currently scattered throughout the city. Situated on a challenging triangular plot fronting Garscube Road, on the site of the former Woodside Primary, the centre allocates a corner entrance for each of these key services in a move which harks back to the pre1900 practice of forming street hugging ‘gushet blocks’, examples of which survive across Maryhill and Garscube. Each of these entrances is decorated with a precast concrete panel containing artwork reliefs designed by Bespoke Atelier. The health centre entrance itself is URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
aligned to face The Mackintosh Church where Urban Realm caught up with project architect Colin Glover. Glover said: “The predominant material facing the urban street edge is a hand-cut brick whilst the inner courtyard, clad in western red cedar reflects the quieter, softer nature of these less defensible elevations. The street elevations reflect the local materiality of the surrounding developments however the subtle detailing of the brick with its double string coursing and large window openings pays homage to the historical nature of the area (when it was largely tenements) and at the same time breaks down the massing of the skin.” A pronounced change in level allows a stepped section to continue down to the daycare centre opposite, where a sheltered courtyard garden is to be formed at the opposite end of the hypotenuse on the lower ground floor. A relatively low-rise southerly façade, which permits daylight over the single storey daycare rooms, will require the application of stenciling to interior windows to protect the privacy of garden users. >
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A curvaceous atrium contrasts with the exterior hard edges
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A private dementia garden sits at the heart of the plan URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Recent decades have not been kind to an area which has been subjected to a local flavour of Mockintosh, evident in everything from surrounding 1980s era infill homes to neighbouring industrial units. Looking forward however the area seems set for regeneration with the likes of LUC’s Hamiltonhill canal quarter, the centrepiece of which will be a tri-directional footbridge at Stockingfield Junction. Further afield efforts are being made to extend cycle lanes up from the city centre at Charing Cross. It is in this context that Woodside has risen, filling out an awkward plot right to the street edge and conjoining facilities under one roof. This roof works hard, playing host to a curvaceous glazed atrium above the ground floor public level and a streamline moderne central reception space, which includes a dental practice and pharmacy. Acoustic timber panelling meanwhile helps to minimise sound ingress. “It’s all about the continuous journey,” notes Glover. Timber screens meanwhile conceal air handling units and photovoltaic panels, a focus on sustainability which extends to electric charging points for cars and the deliberate curtailing of parking owing to excellent public transport links.A bike shed takes pride of place. Glover continued: “The first floor contains children’s services and the second floor is a hot desk office space and staff terrace. This is all just under 7,000sq/m and NHSGGC is about to award a bigger one for Parkhead. The health centre benefits from the additional community use, if you go to Eastwood you don’t recognise it’s a health centre with the café and council offices.” Overcoming the challenges presented by a changing brief, including the surprise relocation of the podiatry reception and last minute alterations to a staff kitchen to provide more seating, Woodside has been heavily fire engineered, the importance of which was demonstrated when a fire took hold mid-way through construction, delaying the opening by months as smoke-damaged materials were replaced. The multitude of uses has required flooring that alternates between smooth and carpeted for clinical and more family-friendly areas. The acoustics were another important consideration. Around 280 staff will begin a phased migration in July, settling into clustered upper office areas that have been stripped back to expose the services and providing a timely fillip to nearby businesses. Glover said: “It’s a concrete roof so there’s thermal mass and it gives you more headroom. There are also breakout spaces which can be used and touchdown spaces for students.” NHS colours brighten the walls with a series of pastel hues, softening the stark white with colours employed by individual surgeries to improve wayfinding. “Every >
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Left - Custom timber screens provide privacy to patient waiting areas Right - Precast reliefs designed by Bespoke Atelier denote each of the entrances
doctor chose a colour,” said Glover. “There’s quite a bold colour in the circulation spaces but the consultation rooms employ pastel hues to tone it down. The challenge was to get a room everyone agrees on. The NHS have technical standards but things like the lights have moved position because we’ve learned from previous iterations. It’s a highly technical facility, getting sign off on seven GP practices. Everything’s been through infection control, acoustics, the process takes a long time but at the end of the day they are improving their facilities.” “It cost about £18m for just under 7,000sq/m. I’m not a party to the exact figure but we crammed a lot into a very tight, constrained site. We’ve put back something from an urban point of view that has been missing from Maryhill for a long time. It brings a little more security to the area and I hope it will seed further regeneration.” The transformation of Woodside from an edge location to a bustling health hub has been achieved by doing more than simply consolidate related services. By rising above the sum of its parts the NHS has managed
to achieve something at a scale which is relevant to the community it serves. In doing so it shows that the rule of three can be as satisfying in architecture as it is in writing. In doing so it demonstrates the truth of the Latin phrase ‘omne trium perfectum’, what comes in threes is perfect.
Client: Hub West Scotland Commissioning Client: Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Contractor: Morgan Sindall Architect: Page\Park Structures: Baker Hicks Services: Cundall Landscape Consultants: Ian White Associates Fire Engineering and Acoustics: Cundall Cost Consultant: Thomas & Adamson
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GORBALS HEALTH CENTRE JOHN GLENDAY
HEAL THY L I V I NG THE SECOND IN OUR TWO PART LOOK AT GLASGOW’S HEALTH REVOLUTION TAKES US SOUTH OF THE RIVER UNDER THE CARE OF JMARCHITECTS WHERE RECENT HOUSING DELIVERY HAS BEEN AUGMENTED BY AN ALL IN ONE CARE HUB. IT IS A STUDY IN UNDERSTATED CIVIC PRESENCE BUT IS IT SOMEWHERE YOU WOULD CHOOSE TO SPEND TIME IN? URBAN REALM MADE AN APPOINTMENT.
For decades the Gorbals name was a byword for deprivation but following the New Gorbals regeneration of the 1990s and the more recent regeneration of nearby Laurieston the area is now better known for urban renewal. Now, with the unveiling of New Gorbals Health Centre the district is seeking to banish past ghosts once and for all. The architect will see you now. More than just a health centre the Gorbals care hub joins a wave of sister projects delivered throughout the city region, all born of a common reference design laid down by Hoskins Architects at Eastwood Health & Care Centre. Since then a wave of health centres has spread across the city, from this common progenitor each pushing the envelope forward in its own way; from Page\ Park’s Woodside to Anderson Bell + Christies Clydebank Health & Care Centre. Each employ new principles laid down by the NHS to offer more care within the communities it serves, reducing dependence on hospitals > URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Twin internal courtyards provide ample space for light, nature and contemplation
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GORBALS HEALTH CENTRE
Secure lifts regulate access to staff only areas on the upper floor
in the process. Designed by jmarchitects along with civil and structural design input from BakerHicks and landscape design by RankinFraser, the £17m centre plugs into a wider regeneration programme for the inner city district, providing a single home for general practitioners, dentists and other care service providers. Delivered by Hub West Scotland alongside main contractor Morgan Sindall together with the city council and New Gorbals Housing Association the health hub stands within the footprint of the former Sandiefield Road tower blocks and so sits at ground zero of a wider vision led by Gorbals Housing Association which is in process of building its own HQ as well as new homes and an events square. Delivered by Page/Park and Elder and Cannon these elements are unified through their use of brick, a palette adopted in turn by JM for their own approach. Offering Urban Realm a look around the dark brick scheme senior architect Julie Benson said: “We wanted something that would give it civic presence.” Specified
to tie-in with a sister residential build by Elder & Cannon Architects the solid masonry walls of the health centre are punctured by generous glazing and Western red Cedar louvres, brightening a façade that might otherwise appear grey on an overcast day. Timber for the louvres, fencing and plant screening has all been specified to weather down in time from a perma-tan to a matching silver. Benson confirmed that access to natural daylight was the driving force behind the project, informing everything from consulting rooms with windows to the outside to maximise daylight and natural ventilation, to the inclusion of two enclosed courtyards. “Some rooms, just by nature of their use, require mechanical ventilation for hygiene purposes and to prevent noise”, said Benson. “The louvres act as barriers that can be fully opened internally without worrying about people falling out, I also think they help soften the façade. The brick does change quite significantly in the light.” Attention to detail stretches to the use of stenciling, >
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Timber slats and landscaping help soften a reliance on brick URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Left - The main stair is aligned with the primary entrance, easing navigation Right - Impressive (and expensive) glazing overlooks the interior courtyards
developed as part of an arts programme to provide ground floor privacy by blocking through views. A range of plants famed for their medicinal properties screen occupants from prying eyes while bringing some life to the elevations. “It’s not a flat opaque film - it has a bit of depth to it”, notes Benson. As the health centre can be approached from all directions each corner has been treated individually, with the most tallest massing located directly above the main entrance that faces the city centre and standing proud and separate to points of entry for the alcohol and drug recovery units, ambulance and staff entrances. This segregation is built into the fabric of the building with corbelling and transparent glazing advertising the main reception without the need for clumsy signage. Each corner benefits from large scale glazing leading onto more subtle moments such as a stepped terrace at roof level. Together these elements help to reinstate the city block, allowing the centre to bed down as part of a family of elements rather than existing apart as a standalone block.
The complex brief necessitated the inclusion of four GP’s, two dental practices, children’s services, physio and podiatry, drug and alcohol recovery and social services and required a great deal of thought to go into the plan. Benson said: “The floorspace is split into three, it’s basically an ‘E’ shaped plan around two courtyards, one enclosed which is used by specialist children’s services and one which is more open. We incorporated more timber in the smaller courtyard for a softer feel and to make it more enclosed and private. Once it greys down it will lose some of that contrast with the brick but will tie in with the tone, the larger of the two is designated as managed use and will be utilised for special events “What’s quite unusual is all the GPs are on the first floor, the majority of patients will head up the stairs, so we needed to create a moment to encourage people up. You do get glimpses of other activity.” How challenging was it to deliver such a mix of facilities and services? “That’s where the consultations came in, that really guided us in how the layout should work. The separate staff entrance for example allows discreet access to the
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GORBALS HEALTH CENTRE
Top - External materials find their way to interior spaces too Bottom - Where possible views are opened up through the length of the building
have a lot of experience they can incorporate within the new centre. Benson observed: “It’s not just medicines and doctors but architecture also has a role to play. Our main driver was natural light and natural ventilation but also ensuring that it didn’t seem like a clinical space. We tried to avoid the dreaded ‘institutional’ look. People coming here probably aren’t feeling their best and it can be a stressful experience, so all the waiting rooms have been positioned around the courtyards as far as possible.” A sad sign of the times includes the necessity to provide adequate security for staff, although this has been kept as unobtrusive as possible. Benson said: “We and the NHS looked at how to work around the safety issue for the staff, so the desks are quite wide so we didn’t need to put in glass screens because the depth alone acts as a deterrent. We also tried to keep the main corridor open at both ends as far as possible, maintaining lines of sight and minimising hidden corners.” A public art programme further humanises the spaces with objects and pictures of local interest carefully peppering corridor spaces, some of which can even be viewed through large format courtyard windows. In this way the Gorbals Health Centre harks back to the areas storied past while asserting its position at the vanguard of community health.
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EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS MARK CHALMERS
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Above - Historic features have been sensitivel retained and enhanced by Page\Park Below - The highly ornate stairwell inside Castle Mills offered solid bones for creative reuse
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The familiar Laughing Cavalier sign at Fountain Brewery as seen in December 2008
Generations of workers have passed through the doors of Castle Mills, a centuries-old industrial site near the Edinburgh end of the Union Canal. The building’s recent transformation, into one of the country’s biggest fine art printmaking facilities, adds another layer to its history. The Fountainbridge area industrialised rapidly following the construction of the Lochrin Canal Basin in the 1820’s. Castle Silk Mills was built at Gilmore Park in 1836 and manufactured Kashmir shawls until a new wonder material came along – India rubber. The North British Rubber Company pioneered the use of rubber and Castle Mills is claimed to be the birthplace of the wellington boot, the motor car tyre and the traffic cone. The company’s roots go back to the dark period in our history when the use of “Scotland” as a signifier was unfashionable, a hangover from the Act of Proscription in 1746. Nearby you also had the North British Hotel, North British Distillery and North British Railway. The firm grew to employ thousands of people, and North British Rubber’s offices on Dundee Street were built around 1875, extended in the 1890’s, then embellished by the Edwardians. As late as the 1950’s, the firm was Edinburgh’s largest industrial employer, making car, lorry and motorbike tyres as well as conveyor belts, mackintosh raincoats, hot water bottles, rubber flooring and golf balls. However, tyre production moved to a new factory at
Newbridge during the 1960’s, and welly boot manufacturing went to the old Arrol-Johnston car plant in Dumfries. In 1969, a huge fire spelled the end for Castle Mills, which was sold to Scottish & Newcastle Breweries then demolished – apart from the offices at the corner of Gilmore Park – and a new McEwan’s brewery built on the site. Fountain Brewery was a complex of bottling halls and brewhouse towers with glazed lanterns, all tied together by tunnels, bridges and pipeways. On the highest tower, facing the Union Canal, was the giant head of Frans Hals’ painting The Laughing Cavalier, which is McEwans’ logo. James Meek’s description of the brewery, in his novel “McFarlane Boils the Sea”, captured my imagination while I was still at school – “Steam boils up into the night sky from the brewery that sprawls between the railway and the canal. Lit by arc-lights, made opaque by the cold, the steam rises over thousands of metal barrels and the fleet of lorries which transport them, grumbling off on nocturnal deliveries, farting compressed air. The plant is bisected by a road; a causeway of piping joins the two halves, pumping vatfuls of foaming yellow and brown liquid to and fro.” When McEwan’s stopped brewing in 2005, the clearance process repeated itself. I photographed the empty brewery in 2008 and it felt very much on borrowed time: Bank of Scotland had offered £100m for the site, on which it intended to build a new headquarters. However, the Credit Crunch did
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Left - Decorative metal gates by Rachel Duckhouse mark the main entrance off Dundee Street Above left - New vertical circulation improves accessibility to all floors Above right - Castle Mills has always been a hotbed of creativity
for Fountainbridge as for the bankers’ other vanity projects, the scheme was shelved and demolition ensued. Yet the offices at the corner of Gilmore Park survived, again. If you could assign human emotions to a building, you’d say that by that point Castle Mills looked morose. The polychromatic brickwork had been painted out dark brown: the type of urban camouflage you’d expect of a back-street establishment in a seamy part of town. Nevertheless, the building was listed Grade C and sought a new use. Edinburgh Printmakers stepped forward, with City of Edinburgh Council acting as matchmaker. Established in 1967 as the first open access studio in the UK, Edinburgh Printmakers have inhabited other industrial buildings such as the former fruitmarket beside Waverley Station and a communal washhouse near Broughton. There’s a congruence between artistic production and industrial buildings – but finding property that’s available, affordable and malleable also has a lot to do with it. I’ve set out the site’s history in detail, not only because so much has been incorporated into the renovated building, but aspects became the generative idea for the conversion scheme. Yet history and character are one thing, but the project only became real after a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and awards from Historic Environment Scotland and Creative Scotland enabled Edinburgh Printmakers to progress the scheme. The conversion of Castle Mills began in 2012, supported
by the Fountainbridge Canalside Initiative, and Page\Park Architects were appointed in 2014 to reshape the building. What remained after North British Rubber, Scottish & Newcastle and the demolition men was an L-shaped block, with a frontage to Dundee Street and return leg which curves and kinks up Gilmore Park, rising towards the canal. The renovated Castle Mills provides EP with a larger printmaking studio, more gallery and archive space, a café and shop, an artist’s flat for residencies, and scope to carry out more work with schools and community groups. “A more rounded visitor experience,” as Ursula Pretsch of Edinburgh Printmakers put it as we walked around the building. The grandest space is the former entrance on Gilmore Park, which was remodelled in 1916 with elaborate mouldings, coloured terrazzo and decorative ironwork. Its sombre feel is down to the dark timber and cool greys, a rare surviving interior from the time of the Great War. Yet thanks to a flight of steps which defeats accessibility, it’s been reduced to a staff entrance, while a new colonnade opened up along Dundee Street forms the main public access. From there, you can interrogate how Castle Mills works. It’s evident that there were three big decisions to make: choosing to relocate the main entrance, determining where to locate the printmaking studio and deciding how to treat the historic fabric. Arguably most important is the organising principle of the building. Should it be centred around a social space such as the >
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Above - A cafe courtyard with glazed brick extension ensure activity spills outdoors Below - Sunshine blazes down unimpeded upon the print studio interior
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café and shop – or a creative space like the printmaking studio? Printmaking lies at the heart of Western culture: we have the printing press to thank for universal literacy. Gutenberg’s printing press made books, and the knowledge they contained, available to everyone. Fine art printmakers, using everything from imagesetters and lithography to etching and woodcut, have extended that to our visual literacy. Similarly, the horseshoe-shaped print studio is the heart of the building and occupies a double-height space full of visual interest. However, Castle Mills had previously been chopped up into cellular offices, so the plan was opened up and attics were removed to reveal the structure of cast iron posts and timber trusses. Underneath them are printing presses with cast iron wheels, tiers of drying racks, polished lithography stones and of course the rich mineral scent of printing ink. Yet as a working environment I had a couple of reservations: one is the lack of a strong connection between the working area and public spaces. Unfortunately, just like Dundee Contemporary Arts, the printmaking studio sits on a different level to the café and galleries, so it’s difficult to watch the printmakers at work. The other is the control of light in the print studio: when I visited, sunshine blasted down from the rooflights onto the platens of the printing presses. The building’s public side includes a shop and two galleries, each of which has a different character. One is a tall northlit cuboid, the other a toplit gallery with a central well which reveals the shop below. The café spills out onto a south-facing terrace, sheltered between the building’s two wings. It feels like an oasis, screened from the traffic on Dundee Street and the construction work going on elsewhere in Fountainbridge, and facing outwards is an extension clad in white glazed brickwork. Conservation work included cleaning and repairing the multi-coloured bricks from Niddrie, and refurbishing the original sash and case windows. Although it’s not obvious from street level, the roof was entirely reslated using Burlington Blue slates, and the trusses were repaired to deal with extensive rot. Beyond the entrance hall lies a range of offices and meeting rooms whose former Edwardian plushness has been replaced by a spare aesthetic of raw brick, plain plaster plus grey resin and screed flooring. Modern interventions are marked out in richer materials: polished brass handrails, bronze ironmongery and white marble thresholds. The tones are contemporary yet sympathetic to the existing fabric, and that highlights the slow cycle of architectural trends. A century ago, brass and bronze hardware were the norm. Manmade materials like bakelite and ebonite (the latter once made at Castle Mills) were tried, then aluminium emerged after the War. Stainless steel was pioneered by D-Line during the 1960’s, and now hardware manufacturers such as FSB and Samuel Heath offer antique bronze and aged brass finishes. What comes around… Castle Mills’ history has been been worked into the scheme through three permanent artworks. Page\Park collaborated
Top - A staircase sadly precludes use of the original entrance for public access Bottom - The first floor gallery provides visual connections between the various levels
with Calum Colvin to create the “EPscope”, a cross between an episcope, kaleidoscope and periscope which offers a glance from the ground floor café into the first floor printmaking studio. Colvin also created murals which lined the façade while the building was derelict. The decorative metal gates which screen the main entrance on Dundee Street were designed by Rachel Duckhouse, doubly inspired by the rollers of rubber calenders and printing presses. The roller motif creates powerful graphic patterns which express for the new entrance what the Edwardian cast iron gates on Gilmore Park say about their own time. The third artwork is Mark Doyle’s “Catalogue Wall” which portrays the many things North British Rubber once made. It consists of low relief panels cast in glass fibre-reinforced concrete which is crisp and smooth, in contrast to the rough, weathered faces of the Niddrie bricks. All three are exemplary installations, where the client, architects and artists collaborated. At a cost of around £6.5m for a floor area of 2675 sq.m., Page\Park have realised a great deal of value from the existing building and made it work hard for Edinburgh Printmakers. Rubber is no longer made by the North British and the Cavalier isn’t laughing any more, but a new generation will get the chance to see a different kind of product emerging.
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Plenty of Parmesan, Prosciutto & Prosecco gave rise to a packed launch party
GLASGOW’S BRIGGAIT SET THE SCENE FOR THREE DAYS OF DESIGN, DISPLAY AND DRINKS AS DELEGATES DIGESTED THE LATEST INTERIOR TRENDS. URBAN REALM JOINED THE PARTY TO SEE WHAT WAS ON OFFER WITH AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT TWO OF THE SHOWS MOST PROMINENT EXHIBITORS - MUIRHEAD LEATHER AND SCHLUTER SYSTEMS.
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Schluter Systems made a splash with their bathroom and washroom offer
Simon Grant Area Specification Consultant Schlüter-Systems Ltd What are the key products you will be exhibiting at #DesignPopUp and why? No other company in our industry provides the breadth of solutions that we do and this will be evident in our stand. We’ll be displaying a number of different products at #DesignPopUp, all of which can be used together as part of a Schlüter-WETROOM system. We want to show architects and specifiers that they can avoid the hassle of using numerous suppliers to create their wetrooms; Schlüter offers everything they need to protect and enhance an installation. Are clients developing a better understanding of life-time costs when specifying? We’ve seen improvements in this over the years, but architects and specifiers are faced with an ever-increasing barrage of product information on a day-to-day basis. As manufacturers it’s our job to provide accessible information to help them digest the subtle details of products in our industry. A key case in point is water-resistant vs waterproof backerboards – both can be used to install tile and stone, but only one will provide permanent protection against the ingress of water and therefore prevent damage to the fabric of the building. Another is with regard to underfloor heating systems – what may be more expensive at the outset actually comes out cheaper in the end due to an easier installation process and the fact that it offers the functionality of numerous different layers in one solution.
What recent innovations have we seen in the tiling industry? The arrival of large format is without a doubt the biggest innovation of recent times - 600 x 600mm is becoming the new normal and we’re now seeing the appearance of tiles with edges that exceed 3 metres (capable of seamlessly covering the height of a wall). The size of these tiles makes it more vital than ever to ensure the substrate is fit for purpose (flat, even, load bearing) and adopt the full-bed method of installation. We also must not forget the need for appropriate movement joint provision. We are also noticing a trend towards minimalist finishing for tile and stone – people are increasingly looking for discreet edging, but tile trims do a very important job in both practical and aesthetic terms. This is where our Schlüter-TRENDLINE range can offer a good solution, as it offers a collection of textured profile finishes that match with current tile and sanitaryware trends. How important are after care & technical services in driving adoption? Schlüter-Systems prides itself on not only offering great products but also being an accessible resource for advice. Though there are some commonalities that run through all tile and stone projects, each project has its quirks and issues – there is no ‘one-fits-all’ solution and this is where the human touch is vital. Schlüter-Systems maintains a clear focus not only on helping architects and specifiers, but also working with tiling contractors. A specification is only as good as the fixer and Schlüter provides in-house and on-site training to ensure that installations meet the mark.
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Muirhead brought their range of high-performance leather to the table
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Richard Mounsor Head of Upholstery Leather & Custom Projects Muirhead How important is heritage to your business? Our heritage is something that we’re very proud of. Andrew Muirhead and Son was established back in 1840, which makes us one of Europe’s oldest tanneries. Our managing director Nicholas Muirhead, 7th generation tanner is a direct descendant of our founder Andrew Muirhead. Having nearly 180 years of expertise certainly goes a long way towards helping us produce a beautiful, sought after product. Having this vast experience offers great comfort to our customers in assuring that every piece of leather we produce has been handled and inspected by a team that has an incredible passion for the product they craft.
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Are you seeing a trend towards more natural, sustainable products? Very much so. What drives our customers’ decision-making is not only the luxurious look and feel of genuine leather but how well our natural material performs. All our leather is rigorously tested to ensure that no matter what the application, customers can be safe in the knowledge that it’s made to stand the test of time. Many Muirhead customers appreciate the sustainable
nature of genuine leather. We believe we are close to making the lowest carbon leather in the world. Our Thermal Energy Planet, the only facility of its kind in the industry allows us to reclaim energy from waste material to utilise in the manufacturing process which contributes to our aim of being a zero waste business. What message are you bringing to #DesignPopUp? This is the first time we’ve taken part at DesignPopUp Glasgow and we’re delighted to be exhibiting. We are looking to reengage with Scottish design communities as we’ve been off the radar for a while concentrating on building business in the global Aviation and Mass Transit Industries. I look forward to building on and leveraging the strong relationships we currently have in the UK manufacturing and design communities whilst increasing awareness of the beautiful, tactile artisan product we produce right here in the East End of Glasgow. What are the advantages of operating your own tannery? Many leather suppliers don’t actually tan their own leather. Muirhead, being a vertically integrated business has full end-to-end control of the process. This gives us great control over the quality and lead time of our end products. Also, our close relationship with farms allows us to source our hides responsibly and those we buy from adhere to strict animal welfare guidelines.
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LAKHTA CENTRE JOHN GLENDAY
ON THE SHORES OF THE GULF OF FINLAND A NEW TOWER HAS RISEN AS A SYMBOL OF RUSSIA’S IMMENSE OIL AND GAS WEALTH, TRANSFORMING THE SKYLINE OF ST PETERSBURG AT A STROKE. WE EXAMINE THE BACKGROUND TO ITS CONSTRUCTION WITH THE MAN WHO HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN.
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Left - While the tower is externally complete work to fit out the interior continues apace Right - New bridges will better connect this peripheral area to the beating heart of St Petersburg
St Petersburg may be best known for its Imperial splendor but on the banks of the River Neva, at a respectful distance from the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city’s newest edifice is making its presence felt. Rising up through 87 floors the future Gazprom HQ puts its own distinctive twist on the glass skyscraper, reaching up to a vertigo inducing 462m to create Europe’s tallest tower. Ahead of its formal opening later this year Urban Realm paid a visit to the city to see whether this totem to oil and gas represents the height of sophistication. Commissions don’t come much bigger than the tallest tower in Europe and concept architect Tony Kettle of Kettle Collective was forced to fend off a who’s who of international architects from Massimiliano Fuksas to Herzog & de Meuron, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind and Jean Nouvel to secure the prize while still fresh from winning the design competition for Moscow’s Evolution Tower not once but three times. Attributing his success to earlier experience working in the city Kettle envisaged a contemporary spire from the start but the distant location was not his first choice. The flat lowland landscapes surrounding the city help to swallow up the enormous scale of the tower which had been relocated from the Okhta promontory and tweaked to maximise the vistas, views and proportions relating to
its waterfront location overlooking the Gulf of Finland. “We moved from the Okhta promontory to Lakhta because the old city is a UNESCO site. It wasn’t in the listed zone but it was on the edge and UNESCO preferred it to be further away. When we went further out it allowed us to make it more elegant. “When we moved to Lakhta we used all the same principles, for the tower itself but adjusted them. It’s contextual to the city of St Petersburg, the canal systems and the baroque forms of the city, it’s a spire seen against other important spires from different centuries. Those other tall buildings were there because of religion, trade and communications. The idea underlying it is really simple. There are so many structures with twisting forms but these are just vertical columns on an orthogonal grid. The corners move but they’re secondary to the main building. This complex geometry is derived from simple repeating patterns found in nature, in particular the Fibonacci sequence, which give rise to the appearance of great complexity from relatively simple inputs. Kettle continued: “The next century for us was about energy so we tried to come up with a new idea for a tower which is like five towers in one. Instead of being just a circle of office space it is five towers, each of which twists and tapers. On >
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Closer to home Kettle Collective are building the longest cable-stayed bridge in Glasgow
every floor there are five floorplates. It was also inspired by the Peter & Paul fortress on the banks of the River Neva where you can see every facade. We were using that same technology to bring daylight deeper into the plan. You can sit 12m away from the edge but you’ll still get daylight. It was also designed as a very energy efficient building, using 40% less energy than a traditional glass tall building.” The internal fit-out remains in full-swing and much of the surrounding land is still a building site as thousands of contractors scurry to complete a planetarium, library and other facilities within the towers shadow, including a highly secure Gazprom control centre overlooking the gulf, all of which is being delivered largely as first conceived. Kettle said: “If you compare the original rendering with the building, it’s so close. I went to the World Cup and met with Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller, and he was delighted. He said, ‘Tony, you’ve done it.’” Since practical completion of the tower envelope Kettle has been embroiled in a legal spat with local delivery architect Gorproject in a row over authorship but is keen to rise above the fray, saying only: “I would suggest anybody looks at the Lakhta Centre website, the client makes it very clear. I like to focus on design.” URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
Kettle’s mathematical approach to design reflects an awareness of engineering principles carried down from the days of the Falkirk Wheel although the practice has no engineers on its books. Instead the team is comprised of 40 architects, landscape architects and urban designers operating from studios in Edinburgh, Dubai, Muscat and Oman. “It’s interesting how a skill associated with architecture can inspire and lead ideas,” says Kettle. “We’re not engineers but we understand how engineering works. We designed a bridge for Glasgow recently which will be the world’s longest opening cable-stayed bridge. That was through understanding the principles of engineering structures. It’s interesting to understand the principles behind engineering and natural forms and the engineers we work with are all like architects because they understand context.” Unlike many of his peers Kettle has cast his net far and wide for work, overseeing expansion to an airport departure board of international locations, including a recently opened Hong Kong office targeting a thus far largely untapped Far East market. Explaining this pursuit of growth beyond Britain Kettle said: “It’s opportunity, it’s >
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Top - Cold bent glass has been harnesses to produce smooth free-form facades Bottom - Multiple phases will deliver a mix of public and private facilities including a secure energy control centre and planetarium
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a bigger pond. We have a whole range of projects from a Solar Innovation Centre for Sheikh Mohammed to a new masterplan in Oman. We enjoy new challenges in different places. Flying is also a great time to think. It’s an ideal place to really think things through.” Russia and the rule of law don’t always appear to go hand in hand with diplomatic relations with the UK currently in the deep freeze over the attempted assassination of a former spy and the linking of Russianbacked separatists with the downing in 2014 of a passenger jet over east Ukraine, but what is the business climate like? “There’s a lot of false concern. My personal experience has been straightforward. There are tough laws and rules like anywhere in the world When you visit different parts of the world you recognise similarities and nuances of why a place is different and special. “You need a good local partner. In Oman we’ve got a good partner who understands the system, regulations and cultural issues. Right now I’m designing a mosque, it’s very contemporary and of today but you need local understanding.” As a former international design director at RMJM Kettle is of course no stranger to racking up air miles but has Scotland suffered from the demise of the architectural juggernaut? “We enjoy the new freedom of creating studios which can respond to client needs”, Kettle said. “The biggest trend I’m seeing is that people are looking to work with individual designers again. They don’t want to work with an anonymous company they want to choose the best and know exactly who they will be getting.” One bugbear of Kettle’s is a procurement system which entrenches the status quo, a push factor in his own moves abroad. He said: “Unless you’ve done 10 hotel projects you can’t get the next one. I always remember Robert Matthew at Ninewells Hospital when he was asked how many hospitals have you done? ‘None, that’s why you have to employ me.’ “Your skills as a designer can be applied with more value not only when you know what you should be doing but also when you challenge. Sometimes when you approach something fresh that’s when you challenge. This is how we normally do it but is that the right way? Is there a better way? I always think you should start from first principles on every project, however often you’ve done it. We should be starting from first principles and give that value to the client.” It was a tall order but St Petersburg’s status as a bridge between Europe and Russia is exemplified by its latest landmark which echoes the history laid out at its feet while simultaneously reaching for the skies. It has energised a city at risk of looking backwards rather than forwards and will offer up new perspectives on the city and the country when it opens later this year. URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Above - A complex of buildings will cluster around the base of the tower, giving balance to the verticality of themain tower Below left & right - The golden domes and spires of St Petersburg’s Imperial past inspired its latest landmark
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PUBLIC COMMISSIONS JOHN GLENDAY
COMP E T I T I V E EDGE FROM BIG-TICKET PUBLIC COMMISSIONS TO SMALLER SCALE STUDENT CHALLENGES, COMPETITIONS HAVE TRADITIONALLY PROVIDED A GATEWAY FOR PRACTICES AND INDIVIDUALS TO SHOWCASE THEIR TALENTS, BUT IS THE CURRENT SYSTEM OPERATING IN OUR OWN BEST INTERESTS?
Open public commissions form a vital component, offering a fast-track to the top for smaller practices and allowing design to flourish in a procurement environment where it all too often of secondary consideration but is the system as it presently stands fit for purpose and if not what can be done about it? A survey by Urban Realm of major public competitions awarded since the turn of the century found that just half were won by indigenous practices with the lion’s share landing outwith the country for major public, university and NHS commissions. While undoubtedly a hugely complex issue we’ve gathered some together various voices from both sides of the argument to establish where public money is flowing and to what degree it is benefitting the indigenous design industry. In doing so it provides a snapshot of the current health of the profession. > URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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The Burrell Colllection is one of the largest commissions to emerge in Glasgow from recent years
Lakhta Centre (RMJM)
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2003 Tradeston Bridge (Rogers Stirk Harbour) CANCELLED
Alistair Scott, co-founder, Smith Scott Mullan When does awareness turn to concern, or realisation turn to paranoia? I admit to a growing awareness of this issue over the years as more commissions get published and awarded. It’s a complex issue, but one of huge importance to our aspirations for Scottish architecture over the foreseeable future. The list of “who designs our buildings” indicated that Scottish based practices are struggling to get a serious share of our major domestic commissions, never mind finding a consistent foothold internationally. We don’t want to be insular and a healthy dose of outside influence is a good thing, but if we want to see a really dynamic architectural scene in Scotland, we need to see a good percentage of our major domestic commissions being designed by Scottish based practices. We have a pool of talented and committed architects in Scotland and I would like to see them influence the world’s thinking, addressing the issues affecting us all. However getting that opportunity needs a stable home base from which to expand. Look at the success of Scandinavian URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Potterrow (Bennetts Associates)
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architecture and how it not only promoted its values but has created an export economy for its contractors and product manufacturers. This was achieved through a culture of progressive design linked to a receptive domestic market and government support. I feel Scottish culture is steadily embracing architecture more readily and The Scottish Government is actively promoting this with initiatives like the Place Standard and Town Centre Living. However I feel that many Scottish practices lack the solid economic base and hence the confidence to expand and challenge the larger international players. We are defending our own back yard rather than tackling the world. There are many factors to making this happen, with our old friend procurement still much to the fore. I know many must be tired of us architects going on about it, but when we have a system which favours the large over the small, the safe over the innovative and in which so much effort is wasted, then that does not create the Launchpad we need. So we need to keep pushing to make the process more effective. This is a wide debate with I am sure many viewpoints, but it is one that is well worth having.
Andrew Brown, co-founder Brown+Brown It’s a subject close to my heart! Not so much on the big-ticket competitions, but in the way it trickles down to other levels of our profession as well. We went for a project recently for a new arts / function building, which we were invited to (privately funded), only to find out at the interview they were asking you to design the building and submit plans and images etc just to be considered. Unfortunately we continue to betray ourselves as a profession by doing such things (we refused by the other submitted firms did not - needless to say we didn’t get it). Our experience of the large public sector competitions is limited, but we see it trickling down to other types of project. What’s more frustrating is when you see the stances of some of the comments on Urban Realm from people that don’t seem to understand if you can’t pay staff, they won’t have architectural work to do. If nobody was willing to do work for free then someone would have to be paid for it, resulting in more paid work in the profession etc. The ‘artist sacrificing financial gain for their craft’ stance gets old. Hopefully Urban Realm can provide a voice on this. The
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2011 Union Terrace Gardens (Diller Scofidio and Renfro) (with Keppie)
radeston Bridge, Dissing+Weitling
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only people who can change it are architects ourselves, which is where some leadership from RIAS would be welcome. Tony Kettle, co-founder Kettle Collective The amount of effort practices have to put into competition entries is huge. What other profession has to do that? We donít really enter competitions that are unpaid. We will look at the odds if it’s six staff required and seek payment to cover the costs. Weíve been pretty successful with it but itís not easy and takes a lot of effort. It’s interesting when you see a competition in Scotland how often Scottish architects are on the shortlist. Sometimes the exotic is seen to be anywhere but Scotland and yet when we travel anywhere we see Scotland exporting its design skills and people. That’s something to be proud of. I just wish in Scotland there were times when people looked closer to home. Thereís a great quality of architects in Scotland and if you take them abroad theyíre given the status and priority that they deserve.
Scottish National GalleryHoskins
Centenary Square, Birmingham, Graeme Massie
Burrell Museum, McAslan & Partners (public tender)
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David Page, head of architecture at Page/Park No matter what discipline you operate in, there is a competitive process - whether you are a researcher bidding for grants, a supplier tendering to resource a need, a service seeking to be a provider, for that matter an individual competing for a work position. Architects trying to attract the attention of a potential client through a competitive design process is probably then a reasonable expectation in that broader competitive context. And it is not just now, there has been competition for design ideas for centuries, just as there has been commercial and scientific competition to establish business opportunities and ideas about what makes our world tick. In the academic grant bidding market, that competitive process has been the focus of exacting procedures - you could say it has been to a large extent regulated. In contrast the architectural design competition market has the air of being unregulated, resulting in a bewildering plethora of processes, a kind of design ‘wild west’, big guns coming to town, young kids on the range, pioneering homesteading - some good, but all in all, a bit of a mess. All markets need regulated, it is a fact of life otherwise you get exploitation with all the downsides. What you need is a sheriff, actually a ‘federal’ enforcement agency. In that context then, is that a role for an enhanced ARB, (or even an EU ARB) to categorise the competition market, into ideas, projects, ‘hub like bids’, initiatives etc, with an associated set of procedures and appropriate renumerations, that are determined to be fair, all overseen by a regulatory authority that has teeth. URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
Perth & Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council is investing £50 million in culture-led regeneration including the £20M transformation of City Hall. Perth is one of the UK’s architectural gems. Originally a medieval powerhouse it contains some of the best examples of architecture from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries to be found anywhere. So from the outset of the City Hall project we were acutely aware that it will define Perth’s public realm and civic identity for generations to come. We used an international design competition to attract world-class architects but we were clear that the winners had to be ‘practical visionaries’. We used the competition process to test that rigorously ñ affordability was central to our brief. We also asked the public’s views on all five shortlisted designs. The amount of public engagement was undoubtedly increased because of the competition. There was a palpable sense of pride that Perth, whilst a small city, could still have big ambitions. At the same time every pound we spend is public money and every inch of City Hall has to work functionally. We finally appointed Mecanoo from over 70 worldwide expressions of interest and five shortlisted architects, and they were also the clear favourite in the eyes of local residents and businesses. We are delighted with how Mecanoo’s ambition and vision aligns with ours, through their collaborative approach and their understanding of community and civic aspirations.
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College of Arts, University of Glasgow, Hawkins/Brow
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Paisley Museum, Amanda Levete
Edinburgh Concert Hall, David Chipperfield (Reiach & Hall)
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Birmingham Symphony Hall, Page/Park
Fruitmarket Gallery (Reiach & Hall)
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GRAS and WHY emerged as winners of a design contest for Princes Street Gardens back in 2017
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e fu display th oduleo range of M an ov G r in thei showroom
NorDan SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN To ensure windows and doors with the highest quality possible, we exclusively source timber from sustainable forests. Precision robots transform raw materials into window components. Before painting all of our timber is pressure treated, this is the single main factor for our industry-leading warranties and product life expectancy. We take great pride in controlling every aspect of the production ourselves because we know there aren’t any shortcuts when it comes to quality. www.nordan.co.uk
60-year life expectancy
low maintenance
safety and security
energy efficient
ARCHITECTURE FRINGE JOHN GLENDAY
ARCHITECTURE FRINGE WRAPPED UP THEIR 2019 PROGRAMME WITH THE BIG LECTURE, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ARCHITECT PETER BARBER TO ARTICULATE HIS MANIFESTO FOR A HOUSING REVOLUTION. URBAN REALM STOPPED BY TO HEAR WHAT HE HAD TO SAY AND ASK WHAT LESSONS LONDON HOLDS FOR THE WIDER COUNTRY. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MORLEY VON STERNBERG.
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All too often in Britain the word housing is immediately followed by the word ‘crisis’ but it wasn’t always so, throughout the 1960s and 1970s record numbers of homes were built, peaking in 1968 when 425,830 were delivered. The Ronan Point disaster of that same year and political and economic upheaval since have led to a collapse in new building to around 165,000 units in 2018. Are we now on the cusp of a radical return to those heady post-war years? Architect Peter Barber thinks so. Addressing a packed Architecture Fringe gathering the social housing pioneer outlined his vision of a more egalitarian society. Barber is turning his attention not to the tower blocks that defined their era but to the terraces, cottages and back-to-back housing which defined our more distant past. As a Londoner Barber is acutely aware of the problems facing those without access to secure accommodation, an issue which has now spread to those on middle-incomes, with predictable consequences for the most vulnerable. Barber told Urban Realm: “There are currently 150,000 people who are homeless in London, one of the richest cities the world has ever seen. We have a massive problem and I think three things need to happen, we need to end right to buy as you have done here in Scotland, we need to introduce rent controls and we need to have a massive social housing programme - just as we had in the aftermath of the second world war.” In his own small way Barber is seeking to construct templates for a new Britain, highlighting projects as varied as studio accommodation for the homeless at Holmes Road, Kentish Town, to high-density housing association properties at Donnybrook Quarter, Hackney. “We’ve been working on a small scale doing social housing for local authorities and it has been rather interesting, “ observed Barber. “However the numbers game is becoming more pressing and my concern is that a lot of local authorities are going to cede control of the programmes that they are running to the contractors. The corporate structure of construction companies means this may well not be as good as it might.” A quick scan of Barber’s work shows that it is the public sector that has been most receptive to innovation with their private counterparts proving to be less than enthusiastic about following suit. “I’ve long wanted to work for a big volume builder but unfortunately they don’t want to work with me!” Says Barber. Musing on why this should be he added: “Where it’s working well social housing is delivered by democratically elected boroughs, which are answerable to the electorate and not their shareholders. The private sector has very different drivers, which relate to profit and therefore the pressure to reduce space and quality is there. In the public sector there is still the residue of the welfare state mindset in certain quarters which can give rise to the > URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Previous page - Peter Barber was described by the guardian as ‘architecture’s Billy Bragg’ Above - Donnybrook Quarter in Hackney is a contemporary reimagining of back-to-back housing, a typology whuch had become a byword for slums
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most wonderful architecture.” “The private sector has failed us, we abandoned social housing in the late seventies and since then millions and millions of social housing units have been lost to the private sector. Global capital is not a good model for producing houses and creating cities, it’s a disastrous one. You only have to walk around London to see the distress and mess created by the private sector.” But does the rampant capitalism of London make it a special case? Possibly in the private sector it is, we’ve just completed a project in south London that has 40% ‘affordable’ housing and it’s quite an interesting building. It’s not the cheapest in the world but it is possible because values are high. In a weird way while one is disgusted by what is going on in London in terms of the suffering of many thousands of people, as an architect it gives you a bit of wriggle room. “There are the good guys but the big picture in which the market and global economics see housing as an investment vehicle has served us very badly.” While Barber believes that the possibility of a proper The sketchbook is a place to dream without doing any vernacular architecture harm... If you don’t have an idea for a competition in the emerging in our globalised first ten minutes then don’t bother. economy remains far-fetched he is keen to stretch the bounds of what is possible by questioning everything, chief among them the space between buildings. “A lot of our projects are street-based site. “Public space belongs to everybody and nobody. It’s housing, they’re not massive apartment buildings with a important to focus on what a street is and how it works. The single point of access. They feel very urban and cultivate street is the basic building block of the city”, notes Barber. particular, very direct relationships between people and Barber is the first to concede that not every idea put the street. That’s something that has fascinated me all the into practice was wise, but finds solace in the adaptations way through my career and something I come back to on of occupiers. “Placing windows in the door was a mistake in every project, how can we think about this as a piece of a way but people have put their own pictures in. You can’t urbanism?” predict what will happen in the buildings you create. Some Barber observes that 70% of all buildings in our cities architects really hate it when people muck about with their are housing stating that “when we make houses we are buildings but I really like it when the architecture becomes building pieces of city”, but is mindful not to overstate the background and people’s lives are in the foreground.” the impact which is limited to providing the framework As an evangelist for streets and houses Barber is in which society can evolve. “I’m always hesitant about seeking to harness more than nostalgia and sentimentality building communities because my fear is we can’t build a in pursuit of his goals, observing that 30% of space in a community. We can create the conditions where a group typical block of flats will be given over to circulation. “The of people have the opportunity to meet one another. You benefits of houses are social, economic and practical. A can also do the opposite. I pull back from the language and four-storey terrace of back-to-back houses gives the same claims people sometimes make for architecture. It’s really density as a six-storey block of flats at 750 homes per important not to overstate what’s possible but we can hectare.” create the right conditions. If these changes are to find more widespread currency “I tend to quote Walter Benjamin who said. ‘… we Barber is aware he must spread his gospel further, noting design and build our buildings and thereafter they that nothing need be taken for granted in a democracy. constrain us’. There’s a complex reciprocal relationship that “We are architects but we’re also citizens, we are part of this exists between people and space, between culture and situation and we all have the power to change it,” he notes. architecture.” Nowhere is that interface more pronounced If this vision of the future is to be realised then each of us than at Donnybrook where sets of public routes bisect the must travel down our own roads to get there.
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Top - Burbridge Close exemplifies Barber’s ability to work with leftover urban spaces Bottom - McGrath Road arrays a cluster of townhouses around a central courtyard ,which Barber hopes will be claimed by residents over time
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AWA R D S SEASON Urban Realm magazine is drawing together Scotland’s architecture and design communities for a 22nd year with the publication of all 2019 nominees for the Scottish Design Awards,presented here in full. Two days of passionate debate saw hundreds of entries whittled down to a chosen few to battle it out in a heated summer contest to crown the best, among them a lofty lookout on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill which rose above the competition to Raining’s Stair’s, an affordable housing development which takes a step in the right direction. Architecture chair Karen Anderson, founding partner at Anderson Bell + Christie, added: “I was impressed with the standard of entries this year and it was really heartening to see in particular the high number of good projects in the educational category. This bodes well for the experience and learning of the next generation. In the regeneration, and in other, categories it was heartening to see some really strong entries that creatively re-used existing buildings. This is vital in the future of architectural practice for sustainability and for the quality and coherence of our towns and cities. I was surprised that by comparison there were fewer entries shortlisted in the affordable homes category and I hope that housing associations and others will fill that gap next year.” Category winners will be announced at a gala dinner on 22 August at the Radisson Hotel, Glasgow. URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
The Nominations Lighting • Jacob’s Ladder for City of Edinburgh Council by Edinburgh World Heritage 01 • Ross Fountain for The Ross Development Trust by FOTOMA Lighting Architects 02 Interior Design • Chapman House for Arsenal FC by 442 Design 03 • Hotel Indigo Manchester for BH Group Interstate Hotels by 3DReid 04 • The Lookout on Calton Hill for Collective by Collective Architecture • Benihana for Benihana International by DesignLSM • Lady Libertine for the Bonvivant Group by Scarinish Regeneration • Chapelpark for Angus Council by Angus Council • Clydebank Community Sport Hub for West Dunbartonshire Council by Marc Kilkenny-Architects • Anderston Phases 4&5 for Sanctuary Scotland by Collective Architecture 07 • Partick Interchange for SPT by Austin-Smith:Lord 06 • Lister Learning & Teaching Centre for The University of Edinburgh by Reiach & Hall 05 • 16 Church Street for West Dunbartonshire Council by Keppie Design
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Residential • Buccleuch Place & Meadow Lane for The University of Edinburgh by JM Architects 08 • Whitehorn Hall for University of St Andrews & Campus Living Villages by HLM • Liberton Barns for Glencairn Properties by LBA 09 Affordable Housing • Anderston Phases 4&5 for Sanctuary Scotland by Collective Architecture • Raining’s Stairs for Ark Estates by Trail Architects 10 • Muirskieth Road for Home Group by Collective Architecture 11
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Health • Gorbals Health & Care Centre for NHSGGC by jmarchitects 14 • The Jack Copland Centre for The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service by Reiach & Hall 15 • The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospital for PPWH by Ryder Architecture 16 URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Leisure/Culture • Clydebank Community Sport Hub for West Dunbartonshire Council by Marc Kilkenny-Architects 12 • Collective on Calton Hill for Collective by Collective Architecture (original architect Malcolm Fraser) 13 • V&A Dundee for Dundee City Council by Kengo Kuma & Associates
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Education • Alyth Primary School for Perth & Kinross Council by jmarchitects 17 • Arcadia at Easter Bush for The University of Edinburgh by Atkins 18 • Northumbria University Architecture Building for University of Northumbria by Page\Park • Boroughmuir High School for The City of Edinburgh Council by Allan Murray Architects 19 • Bayes Centre for The University of Edinburgh by Bennetts Associates • Broomlands Primary School for Scottish Borders Council by Stallan-Brand 20
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Commercial • 2-4 Blythswood Square for CCLA Investment Management by McGinlay Bell • The Fife Arms Hotel for Hauser & Wirth by Moxon Architects 21 • Cairngorms National park HQ for Seafield Estates by Moxon Architects 22 • Tollcross Housing Association for THA by Elder & Cannon • 16 Church Street for West Dunbartonshire Council by Keppie Design 23 Public • East Calder Partnership Centre for West Lothian Council by Collective Architecture 24 • The Gorebridge Beacon for Gorebridge Community Development Trust by Lee Boyd 25 • Clydebank Community Sport Hub for West Dunbartonshire Council by Marc Kilkenny-Architects
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Future Building • Angel Gardens for MODA Living by Haus-Collective 26 • Western Harbour for Forth Ports by 7N & Rankin Fraser 27 • Thistle Garden Rooms for Thistle by 3DReid • Dundashill Masterplan for Scottish Canals & Bigg by Rankin Fraser, HTA Design & Blyth & Blyth • The Yard for The Yard Dundee by Chambers McMillan and jmarchitects • River Clyde Crossing for Renfreshire Council by Kettle Collective & SWECO 28
Master Planning • The Knab for Shetland Islands Council by 7N, Rankin Fraser & Nick Wright Planning 34 • (Y)our Broomielaw for Glasgow City Council by AustinSmith:Lord & MVRDV • Buchanan Wharf for Drum Property Group & Barclays Bank by Stallan-Brand • Water Row for Govan HA, Central Govan Action Plan & GCC by Collective Architecture 35 URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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Public Realm/Landscaping • Social Bite Village for Social Bite by Wardell Armstrong 33 • The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospital for PPWH by erz • Kesson Court for Hanover Scotland by Rankin Fraser
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Low Cost • Avonbridge United Reform Church for United Reformed Church Synod of Scotland by 3DReid • Blackhouse for Ben Addy by Moxon Architects 32 • West Highland Way for Milngavie BID by Page\Park
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Re-use of a listed Building • Lower Dens, Hotel Indigo & Staybridge Suites for CSAM by jmarchitects 29 • Mackintosh at the Willow for Willow Tea Rooms Trust by Simpson & Brown 30 • St John’s Church for Cornerstone Developments by LDN Architects • Edinburgh Law School for University of Edinburgh by LDN Architects 31 • Queen’s Cross Church for Queen’s Cross Church by Lee Boyd • The Borders Distillery for The Three Stills Company by Gray Macpherson Architects
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NEW ZEALAND JAMES GRIMLEY
Left - Reiach & Hall contrast the rich approach abroad with their ‘spare and modest’ approach at home Right - Captain Kelly’s Cottage by John Wardle Architects is described as a tour-de-force of restoration and addition
D I S TANCE L EARN I NG FRESH FROM THE DESIGN SPEAKS SYMPOSIUM IN TASMANIA REIACH & HALL DIRECTOR JAMES GRIMLEY DETAILS HIS EXPERIENCES FROM THE FAR SIDE OF THE PLANET, IN PARTICULAR THE DIFFERENCES IN APPROACH EVIDENCED BY ARCHITECTS OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES. HERE GRIMLEY OUTLINES HIS FINDINGS. On the 30th and 31st of March I was lucky enough to be invited to make a presentation at the Design Speaks Architecture Symposium in Hobart, Tasmania - “a weekend of learning in the Tasmanian landscape.” In the few days I was there I discovered a thriving architecture scene populated with many highly talented and skilled architects. Day one began with a stirring speech by University of Tasmania’s vice chancellor Rufus Black, who urged the 300 or so assembled architects to remember to create spaces that are humane and centred around human activity – he talked at length about the importance of bathing, the importance of buildings being able to breath. He noted that good buildings can only be produced when the architects re-establish the necessary direct bond with clients that project managers so often > URBAN REALM SUMMER 2019 URBANREALM.COM
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The importance of humane architecture is embodied in the domesticity of many New Zealand homes
try to obscure. Six practices presented their work, four from Australia and two international practices of which Reiach and Hall was one. First up were Peta Heffernan and Elvio Brianese, founding directors of Tasmanian practice Liminal Studio. Their talk started by focussing on ‘the dinner party epiphany’ – that moment when the meaning of a project comes to light through conversation. They then presented a fascinating array of projects ranging from performance spaces/props for a dance company, to bespoke furniture designs and skilfully conceived houses. Next, Mat Hinds and Poppy Taylor of Tasmanian practice Taylor and Hinds Architects showed a variety of small scale projects including the exquisitely conceived and detailed krakani-lumi - ‘resting place’ - a standing camp within the wukalina/Mt William National Park. Inspired by traditional Palawa - half-domed forms of ancient Tasmanian Aboriginal shelter, the series of shelters are as unusual are they are beautiful. It will be fascinating exciting to see the practice evolve as larger commissions hopefully come their way. The morning session concluded with my talk about Reiach and Hall Architects, tracing threads and themes
in our work from 1944 to the present day. Our northern work was distinctly different from the works presented by the architects of the southern hemisphere. Works from the south were generally rural, fully timber lined spaces, framing incredible views over the landscape. Our works from the north were spare and modest by comparison. The afternoon session began with Jad Silvester and Penny Fuller, of Silvester + Fuller from Sydney. Having previously worked for Herzog and de Meuron and Foster and Partners, their work was polished and conceptually driven and included an ambitious holiday resort fit for the set of a James Bond Film on the northern coast of Tasmania. Next up was Andrew Burns Architect who presented some conceptually delightful projects, the high lights being a series of hiking lodges in the Tasman National Park and a delightful competition entry for a sports scheme - The Green Square Aquatic Centre - generated through the transformation of the simple cricket fence into an oval envelope that rises and falls around a variety of sports spaces. The final presentation was an inspirational talk by the >
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Top - Southern hemisphere architects enthusiastically embrace their open landscapes Below - Shearer’s Quarters responds to the contours of the landscape through the slope of its roof
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The Green Square Aquatic Centre skillfully weaves a humble cricket fence into its architecture
Chilean architect Cazú Zegers. She discussed geopoetics, works with students, the impressive Hotel Tierra Patagonia, and two delightful houses – one for herself and her daughter and the other for her mother – a modern Chilean interpretation of the Roman atrium house. The following day we were invited to have dinner and to spend the night at John Wardle Architect’s magical Captain Kelly’s Cottage and Sheep Shearers quarters on Bruny Island. The highlight of the symposium, John Wardle hosted eight of us for the evening, taking time to describe the design process, the objects he’d collected to inhabit the house and introduced us to a local eastern Quoll – a black and white spotted marsupial about the size of a hare that fearlessly scavenged outside the living room window. The roof form of Shearer’s Quarters was generated by responding to the difference in the geometrical orientation of the existing building on the site and the direction of the contours, resulting in a roof that triangulates itself from being a monopitch at one end to a gable at the other end. The 700mm grid that determined the interior cladding of Pinus Macrocarpa,
was established as the minimum dimension into which an internal door could be placed. Some delightful quirks such as the fact that some books can’t be taken off the bookshelves as they are structurally supporting the shelves above. The building is beautifully put together and a treat to spend a jet-lagged early morning watching the sun rise from its east facing living area whilst discussing geopoetics and the works of Scottish French author Kenneth White with Cazú Zegers. Even more special is the restoration and remodelling carried out to the adjacent building - Captain Kelly’s Cottage - a tour de force of selective restoration and inventive addition. The building won the RIBA Award for International Excellence last year, and it’s easy to see why. It is clearly a work of love, that has been carried out over a good length of time. The layering and blending of new and old, richly textured with inventive detailing and design moves that should certainly satisfy the Tasmanian University Principal’s desire to see people centred architecture that can breathe. A wonderful setting to discuss architecture and drink Tasmanian whisky late into the night.
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