Felicity Pike (she/her)
A home and a community centre
‘We see potential in sharing and making space together that balances practicality with joy in a truly circular way. To create space and time to work, care, create, clean, garden, rest, and play.’ An extract from ‘Household. The un(ruly) book’
These two schemes are both located on a former Bowling Green in Pollokshields. I have treated the project as two phases of a single proposal: with the social housing being the first and a new community space being the second. Together they both aim to provide accessible facilities for the elderly. This will become the first example of a concept of housing and social spaces within a larger site that can be replicated across the city, to provide facilities for other groups within the community.
The proposal addresses the need to provide spaces for elderly residents in the area. Whilst looking into the social history of Pollokshields, I found that the community facilities are mainly outdoor spaces, with many of those not being accessible to everyone. The community centre is currently closed and this means there are even fewer internal spaces for people to gather.
Studies show that social isolation can also bring on faster ailments that are experienced as we get older. Through my proposal, I have designed a variety of housing typologies that are accessible and have provided more spaces for people to leave their homes. To have a place to carry out activities and interact with people of their own age and others within the community. These facilities can also be rented out to other people within the community –encouraging collaboration between demographics within the neighbourhood. The intention is that this will help to form friendships and networks across the city. For instance, creating partnerships with nearby schools and housing activities between these groups in the activity spaces provided.
Project Links
MACMAG 48
Creative Allies
This year’s edition of MacMag seeks to explore the relationship between the arts and architecture. Through a range of conversations and articles we explore the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary practice, showcasing a celebration of diversity in our architectural education and industry.
The Mackintosh School of Architecture sits within a unique context both geographically and socially; the art school’s presence poses as an intrenchment on the architecture school’s values. This enrichment for the school comes from a reliance on the arts, both academically and in an informal social relationship. MSA prides itself on its contextual relationship with the art school. Our building, the Bourdon, sits with other studios filled with artists, photographers and fashion designers across the street. As students, it is inevitable to be immersed in a diverse array of creative disciplines, whether consciously or subconsciously. This exposure has a profound impact on students’ perspectives, their creative output, and the trajectory of their professional journey beyond academia. Our interviews with Will Knight, former MSA student turned artist, and Andy Summers, an architect, educator and curator, explore this idea further.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who our school is named after, is a prime example of where this collaboration between the arts can be seen working at its best. Charles, and fellow architecture student James Herbert MacNair, formed a creative alliance with sisters Margaret and Frances Macdonald, day students at GSA, to produce an innovative and distinctive design style which came to be known as the ‘Glasgow style’. We are reminded of Mackintosh’s legacy every time we pass by the Mackintosh Building. We delved into his work and his approach to the arts and architecture in our conversation with Liz Davidson
The school’s ability for dawning professional and social relationships with the arts is clear. Though can we assume this is carried through to practice?
As students of the Glasgow School of Art we pose the question: what is the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary practice? How do the arts manifest in this? We ask, where is the line between arts and architecture and is this line continuously moving?
