Urban Filament — Housing Proposal in Tradeston
Tradeston’s urban grain is one of flux, where scattered industrial remnants and a substantial depletion of housing shed light on its current underutilised state. This slender housing intervention seeks to mend this fabric – and to speak for the wider housing crisis – by establishing a high density of separate households within narrow urban confines.
Echoing the proportions of the neighbouring ‘Grainstore’ building allows for an efficient continuation of modular form, signalling the development of a block with a dense, scalable, and identifiable urban housing type.
The Filament endeavours to inspire shared belonging in a context where communal strength has eroded in tandem with the area’s bygone residential fabric. A sequence of thresholds softens the transition between public and private realm as a social imperative, encouraging interaction without intrusion. Ground materiality and façade canopying indicate a gradual phasing from street to shelter while maintaining a frontage with a sense of quiet dignity.
Areas of distinct ownership are suggested through materiality and separation devices that allow residents to alter spatial permeability. Entrance alcoves may be utilised for solitary pause or casual exchange; rear terraces allocate external platforms for peaceful retreat or to invite neighbourly engagement. Seclusion and openness may be determined by the changeable desires of occupants.
