Currently the area of Pollokshields does not have an attraction for the wider Glasgow community or tourists, despite having a population from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The proposal provides a place of gathering to experience traditional Scottish culture through mediums of art, cuisine, music, dance, language and storytelling. Strategically situated adjacent to Glendale Gaelic Primary School, on the site of the old bowling green, the proposal seeks to provide an extension to traditional Scottish heritage to integrate within the multi-cultural community of Pollokshields.

Currently the old Bowling Green is under the Stewardship of a local community group ‘Bowling Green Together’ who use the space to culminate different cultures and customs in a safe place of unity. The proposal of a gathering place for cultural exchange aligns with the values of the community group and will respect and greaten their position in the community with development of their current outdoor space.

The building’s purpose informs the composition of the proposal using traditional forms and vernacular materials with a contemporary approach. This provides a sense of familiarity and belonging as the series of spaces are transitioned within. Exploring the design based on the use and feel of the spaces provides opportunities to craft key moments of anticipation and experience for the people inside the building. The energy and vibrance of each designated space fundamentally inform the journey to and within each room.

The use of traditional building fabric not only implores the use of locally sourced materials and craftmanship but also directly contributes to the technological drivers of Biodiversity and Sustainability. The building ethos extends wider into the community through the use of landscaping and planting to interconnect the curtilage within the proposed biodiverse streetscape.

The Gaitherin’ Place creates a much-needed extension within Pollokshields to integrate traditional Scottish culture into the local and wider community.

Today, housing is de-commissioned when it is no longer ‘fit for purpose’. We out-live it, we out-grown it and we fall out-of-love with it. If we want buildings to last longer we need them to grow and change with people, for the better or the worse in their lives.

Growing up I lived in a 2-bed, end terraced ex-council house. My mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had a stroke leaving her paralysed down her left side and wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. During this time she was confined to only the living room with a bed and commode as the doorways weren’t wide enough and the bathroom was upstairs. Simple things we don’t consider renders people with disabilities the inability to live in the world we do.

Informed by my experience of living, this proposal creates adaptive and inclusive living for inhabitants of all abilities allowing for growth and change within the internal arrangement. The proposed ten dwellings are fully accessible by wheelchair allowing for life without obstruction or compromise for residents. Incremental changes in design decisions and dimensions allow for a simple yet inclusive layout that is livable for all. From the inside out the arrangement fades from secluded, private spaces into semi-private with connection to semi-public spaces. From the living spaces, each dwelling looks out onto the public realm and shows relation and understanding to its neighbouring buildings.

Centred around the crossroad of Shields Road and Albert Drive, the proposed communicates to the elevations opposite through a series of opening changes between the faces. The block is built-off the original garden wall of ‘the Knowe’ continues using a contemporary approach to meet the existing block of 5-9 Knowehead Gardens. The proposal is a continuation of the existing wall, creating a solid, stone plinth on which the new building is situated. Accompanied with lightly coloured brick it creates a connection to the existing blocks and the use of recyclable polycarbonate cladding creates a new, light touch for key elements of the proposed dwellings and the retrofit of an additional storey to the existing block.