Maryhill Locks

The project is the latest phase of the Maryhill Locks masterplan, the design brief for which was to create thirty-three sustainable and flexible 3 and 4 bed terraced houses.  The site is complex due to the level changes (7m) across its overall narrow condition (17m at its narrowest point).  Due to the tight site, both parking and bins are arranged directly off the street to the front of the dwellings, however these have been dealt with in a holistic manner, with bespoke bin stores having been formed in brick and timber to conceal the recycling bins, whilst also acting to screen the cars and maintain the overall appearance and feel of the masonry development. Each dwelling has access to a secure common amenity space by way of an allotment - a ‘hidden garden’ - for all residents of the development to use.  This hidden garden also contains open space for children to play as well as allotment planters to allow residents to grow their own fruits, vegetables and herbs, so promoting the sustainable and community-focussed living agenda of the brief.

The buildings are arranged in a regular terrace which re-establishes the street edge, whilst breaking the terrace into four separate buildings and orientating these to be parallel to the Phase 3 development gives the appearance of a stepped building line, breaking up the monolithic quality of the block and ensuring that the building form is animated and interesting rather than solid.

The building massing is designed to address existing hierarchies on the site; a higher scale to the block which is visible immediately upon arriving at Lochgilp Street, providing an anchor-point to the whole development, and a lower scale to the other three blocks where views are opened up to the River Kelvin, with these three blocks provided with private terraces which are articulated as set-backs to the building line. The flat roofline of the buildings provides a counterpoint to the articulated roofline of Phase 3.

To ensure light is maintained to each elevation of the proposed development, the steep topography of the site is managed by the introduction of a retaining wall offset from the back elevation of the blocks, allowing for a light well to be created which is accessible as a small terrace space at ground floor. Access is maintained to the back gardens from the first floor by way of a link bridge over the light well.