Ashtree Road, Glasgow

Ashtree Road, our award-winning development of 24 flats for Mid Market Rent, located in Pollokshaws - a well-connected neighbourhood with a rich and varied history - it was a brownfield site, formerly hosting a Victorian swimming baths.

Our contractor Merchant Homes introduced the site on the basis of a design and build package, with the aim to bring back into use a derelict, vacant space, which reflected the progress and ambitions of the regeneration work already underway locally.

We agreed with Glasgow City Council that the 24 homes created would be for Mid Market Rent - something which increases choice for people in the area and offers an alternative to the homes for social rent, private rent and outright sale. Funding was secured on this basis, with grant approval being issued in December 2017.

We felt strongly that as well as producing high quality homes, the development needed to celebrate the area in a contemporary way, and we subsequently worked with Graeme Nicholls Architects to create a design that drew inspiration from the history of Pollokshaws.

While tenement and more modern housing has been developed in the neighbourhood, the rise of the textile industry saw Flemish weavers settle in Pollokshaws during the 19th century and they were considered a strong and influential demographic within the area. As a result, a number of features associated with weaving have been incorporated into the development’s design.

We incorporated a repeating motif of woven materials in the pattern making, with the placement of windows on the façade (which are also tall in proportion in a nod to the historic tenement windows found throughout Glasgow), use of Flemish bond and projections on feature brick panels, two tone setts used in the hard landscape, through to the design of metal balcony railings. We also included the subtle use of a number of Flemish architectural tropes including the use of steep gables and facing bricks.
Combined with the use of striking black brickwork, the development has become a contemporary and innovative addition to the area, and its inspiration was well received both by planners and the local community.