Homes for the Future : Information + Images

Location: Glasgow Green, Scotland Homes for the Future was masterplanned by Page & Park Architects and coincided with Glasgow's 1999 Year of Architecture. Future Homes Buildings by RMJM, Ian Ritchie, Elder & Cannon, Mckeown Alexander, Ushida Findlay, Wren Rutherford ASL, Rick Mather Homes for the Future was conceived by Glasgow 1999. Phase One of the project was a major element of the 1999 programme, Glasgow’s ‘UK City of Architecture and Design’ festival. The director was Deyan Sudjic who certainly caused a stir in the city. image from Glasgow Green by Adrian Welch Future Homes - Glasgow A competition was held for Homes for the Future Phase Two and controversy surrounded the selection with Zaha Hadid again coming close to winning a UK project. RMJM Architects won the Future Homes Competition and is working with other architects for Glasgow City Council. Homes for the Future involves the development of a site on the eastern edge of the burgeoning Merchant City and faces onto Glasgow Green. A masterplan was created by Page & Park Architects with Arup Associates. Glasgow 1999 launched a design competition encouraging developers to submit plans that reflected future living and future techonology. Homes for the Future Glasgow : Phase 2 Elder & Cannon Architects Homes for the Future Housing : The Green, by Elder & Cannon Architects won a Saltire Award in 2000 Homes for the Future masterplan : Page & Park Architects Rick Mather Architects image © keith hunter Homes for the Future Flats Mckeown Alexander Architects Andrew Lee McKeown Alexander Homes for the Future: Terraced Housing & North Building, Lanark Street, Glasgow by McKeown Alexander Architects (now part of jm architects) won a Saltire Commendation in 2001 Ian Ritchie Architects Ian Ritchie Architects RMJM Architects Homes for the Future House Homes for the Future: Villa by RMJM Scotland Ltd Architects won a Saltire Award in 2000 with Riverbrae Construction. Ushida Findlay Architects Ushida Findlay Architects Wren Rutherford ASL Architects austin smith lord architects Homes for the Future, Housing: 14-16 Lanark Street, Glasgow by Rutherford/Austin Smith Lord, Architects won a Saltire Commendation in 2000 Homes for the Future was sponsored by Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Development Agency, Glasgow 1999 and Scottish Homes and managed by Rock DCM Future Homes - Extract from Scottish architecture page: No.6 Homes for the Future, Glasgow Green, Glasgow masterplan: Page & Park Architects with Arup Associates architects: Elder & Cannon, RMJM Glasgow, Ian Ritchie Architects, Ushida Findlay Partnership, McKeown Alexander, Wren + Rutherford, Rick Mather Architects Andrew Lee Are these homes for the future, homes for now, homes for anyone? Known as Fairy Glen by many Glaswegians due to the large gay population this urban experiment is truly invigorating. The few modern houses that we have in Scotland often sit alone and aloof but here we have a veritable pot-pourri of great contemporary architects. Like Stuttgart's Weissenhofsiedlung back in the 30's you have to ask yourself 'is this a model for the future or a zoo for preening architects'? It has been described as an outdoor Ideal Homes show but the grouping has a strong sense of urban grain. image © keith hunter The houses and flats lie East of the city centre, hovering on the edge of the Merchant City. They mostly face out over Glasgow Green to the south or inwards to the green court. The latter is basically triangular and thus not at all a traditional tenement back court. The southern blocks respect the building line onto the Green and even pay homage to deck access that is reviled just a stone's throw away. All the buildings (except Ritchie's copper block) seem to be rooted via white render, and there's a lot of fashionable cedar boarding. Private developers collaborated with public sector housing authorities: the scheme, planned in three phases will create 250 homes in what was once a thriving community. Adrian Welch Three teams were invited to compete to produce the masterplan, including Dutch and Irish planners. The winning partnership, Glasgow architects, Page and Park, backed by Arup Associates, produced guidelines indicating a mix of accommodations of various tenures, sizes and budgets. It specified the need to address the scale of the site, with an appropriately urban character, rather than a suburban one. It also specified that individual houses should address the issues of barrier free access, energy, living and working combinations. A large-scale block looks out directly over Glasgow Green, itself the subject of a multi-million refurbishment by Glasgow City Council with Heritage Lottery money, while an internal landscaped area behind forms the focus for the more intimately-scaled rear of the development. image © keith hunter Each block tries something different: from west to east, anti-clockwise - a floating corner box, a rippling wall nestling convex balconies in the hollows, a cascading tower draped with wire trellis, a copper box, celebrated timber garages and a series of bridge-access flats. There are a lot of playful strokes here, some whimsical, some bold. The glazed cascades of the Ushida Findlay block are captivating but bizarrely face north, protecting the cliffline to the Green. The McKeown Alexander building (above left) really knits the north corner together and its detailing around the entry is a delight. photo : Andrew Lee The inability of the project to deal with cars gracefully is a drawback, especially the paved parking to the south. Little attempt at communality in the garden may be a safe option but hardly creates a benchmark. However the architecture is significantly innovative and a marker for what can be done with a little organisation. It revitalises a city centre community. It is one of the most important projects to emerge from Glasgow's year as UK City of Architecture and Design. New Houses Scottish Architecture Homes for the Future architect : RMJM Most of Homes for the Future Phase One sold out prior to completion Homes for the Future + City of Architecture 1999 + Lighthouse Glasgow featured in AJ 7 Jan 99