EXISTING CONDITION
At present the site accommodates a series of historic buildings that have, over time, seen their character eroded by contemporary extensions and adaptations to floor space meeting on-going NHS demand.
A collection of bespoke residential forms arranged within the site of the former Victoria Infirmary to create a series of interconnected neighbourhoods.
Few sites in Glasgow are more iconic than the former Victoria Infirmary. There is a tremendous responsibility in directing the narrative for the future development of this landmark site given the deep, embedded relationship that many people across the local community and beyond have had with the site and buildings across a great many decades. A bespoke residential development of 380 dwellings is proposed, arranged in a collection of forms to create a series of interconnected neighbourhoods within the wider Battlefield / Langside community.
There was an aspiration to respond to the iconic 'finger' arrangement of the former Victoria wards.
The masterplan presents a strong urban edge to the south and west boundaries of the site to afford the enclosed public spaces some relief from the surrounding main roads and urban environment. Height is distributed among these peripheral apartment blocks to give prominence to corners and to address the heights of the immediate context, with the threshold blocks formed around a gateway space that draws movement into the site and to Queen’s Park beyond.
An intimate urban community bridges the space between the peripheral urban blocks and Queen’s Park, expressed as townhouses that adhere to a more traditional pitched vernacular with uninterrupted northern aspects to the park. Tangents of trees and green spaces are seemingly extended into the development from the park, meeting and spreading along the central axis of the site to create communal open spaces for play and enjoyment.
Central to the design proposal is the creation of an activated public space, designed to cater both pedestrian and car alike, providing improved connectivity between Battlefield Rest and Queen’s Park. This ‘spine’ creates a series of spaces, cascading down from the retained category B listed building to the gateway urban space created opposite Battlefield Rest.
VIG
CALA Homes
Concept Design
380 Apartments