Ellengowan (Phase 1), Dundee

Ellengowan Regeneration, replaces 124 identical 2 bedroom cottage flats in a popular residential area that were originally constructed in the 1920s as a temporary solution to a housing shortage between the wars. The lifespan of the properties was only intended to be 25 years and they were built with minimal thermal and acoustic insulation and a lack of adequate storage. However, nearly 100 years later, they were still in use.

The new development offers 130 affordable housing units, providing a mix of amenity housing for elderly residents, mainstream and wheelchair flats, cottage flats and family terraced houses and a corner shop.

Ellengowan is located between Arbroath Road and Broughty Ferry road at an important transitional zone between the inner city and suburban zones, approximately 2 km from the city centre. The north part of the site is within a Conservation Area and required a very sensitive design approach to suit the context.

The open space strategy retains the green, leafy character of the existing development whilst increasing the overall provision of good quality, public green spaces. This was achieved by balancing the planning requirement to improve road access and provide parking, which was missing from the almost car free previous development. A green route to the west of the site provides links to public transport and Baxter Park, including a pedestrianised section to the north. As Baxter Park provides a large-scale parkland environment with a wide variety of amenities, including a multiuse games area close to the southern entrance, the Ellengowan development instead focusses on providing a varied range of intimately scaled pocket parks, more aimed towards the younger and older members of the community, including lots of benches for rest and play equipment.

The site is steeply sloping and the blocks gradually step down the site to avoid complex stepped house types and minimise the quantity of retaining walls. The cottage flats and housing blocks have been staggered so that the housing can enjoy views over the roofs of the cottage flats from their upper floor living rooms.

The design approach for the 2-storey homes revolves around locating the living spaces on the upper level, to integrate everyday life with the natural advantages of the southerly aspect and views over the Tay to Fife. The principal living levels are on the ground floor, with a bedroom which complies with enhanced apartment requirements, an accessible bathroom, and the kitchen/dining room. A low-angled sawtooth roof form is adopted to allow the residents to see over the block in front (through the valley) and to provide a strong visual identity.

The homes facing Baxter Park utilise a recessed brick detail to create shallow inverted bays to maintain a regular, tenemental rhythm appropriate to the conservation area context. The flats have lift access and provide amenity housing complete with level access to the bus stop and the shop. The corner shop unit replaces a slightly ramshackle kiosk that stood at the corner for many decades. Since opening, the shop has proven to be very popular with the local community and has become a focus for informal social gathering.

The cottage flats are sited on the steeply inclined streets of Ellengowan Drive and Dalkeith Road and are stepped to ensure level access is achieved. Their angled bays give south facing views to the Tay from their living rooms. The upper floor cottage flats have their own individual doors from the main streets. Each cottage flat benefits from a small private garden plot.

Ellengowan includes public art-work by designer Kirsty Thomas from Tom Pigeon. Kirsty held community workshops in 2019, where residents shared their thoughts and memories of Ellengowan, leading to the design of embossed glazed bricks at the entrance to each home. The patterns relate to the botanical and industrial heritage of the site, which was formerly owned by the Baxter family.