Degree Show 2023
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Interior Design School of Design

Louie Aiken

(She/Her)

Interior Design student, passionate about creating prosperous environments for all. A main driver of my work is the power that design has to shape quality of life and better our human-created world.In particular, how civic space defines how people experience urban life, and how it dictates the relationship between people and their surroundings. I am fascinated by the significance of open space; the social opportunities it provides for interaction, inclusion and mixing socially. Especially how it can form neighbourhoods and benefit the development of communities. Consciously responding to this is a fundamental part of my design practice.

Choosing the re-generation of a distressed commercial arcade is to revive the post-war optimism that it was originally built upon. My aim is to repurpose the area as a public space and to encourage congregation, resembling its once lively past. Thoughtfully considering the historical context is inherent, not only to my project, but my design process.

I aspire to foster social exchange using outdoor spaces which have an inclusive nature with fewer social and physical barriers. I find an integral part of my practice is designing for the present, with an awareness of the past. These are the fundamentals of both my written and studio work.

 

 

Contact
loulouaiken@gmail.com
lou.a.design
Works
Anderston Community Complex

Anderston Community Complex

 

Aim     Re-generating a row of commercial units emphasising on reclaiming public space and reviving the once lively Anderston Centre.

 

Brief     Re-generating Cadogan Square’s commercial units and making it a multi-use community village to bring life back to Anderston and seek peace within an industrial area.

 

Spanning across outdoor and indoor, the space will provide a mixture of uses. The project hosts a wide range of activities over the ground floor and terrace; workshop units, a flexible events space, community cafe/bar, outdoor seating and marketplace all for public use. Other facilities include a playroom for children,exhibition space and small retail space for goods made in the workshops.

 

The space itself is designed to adjust accordingly to the event, workshop or weather conditions. Given the location of the site it is perfect for hosting events and acts as an escape within the city to have lunch in this secluded pocket of the city.

 

The project aims to induce interaction and social exchange through the use of outdoor space which in turn will have an inclusive nature with little social and physical barriers.

 

Project Links
Cadogan Square - Community Village, flexible event spaces + communal cafe in the reimagined commercial units of Anderston Centre Brief Re-generating Cadogan Square’s commercial units and making it a multi-use community village to bring life back to Anderston and seek peace within an industrial area.
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Upon entering the complex you are met with a multitude of seating spanning across ground level and the terrace. The facilities involving the most commerce are purposefully placed at the entrance to the site. For wandering visitors there is colour coded wayfinding for directions intentionally placed next to the utility space and retail space in the case it’s needed to speak to a member of staff. The material choices are immediately made apparent with the use of corrugated materials on the shop fascia of the units as well as outdoor seating using materials such as red brick and breezeblocks.
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This vast megastructure was the flagship development of the new Anderston - the old having been largely wiped out by slum clearances and the construction of the M8. Today, the complex is a sad shadow of its former self, with only the underground car park, the three council tower blocks and some of the office space remaining in use. It all began much more optimistically - built between 1967 and 1973, the intention was that the commercial activity of the re-developed Anderston would be replaced by one huge building - it encompassed offices, high-rise housing, shops, car parking and a bus station.
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S i t e V i s i t / October 22'

This vast megastructure was the flagship development of the new Anderston - the old having been largely wiped out by slum clearances and the construction of the M8. Today, the complex is a sad shadow of its former self, with only the underground car park, the three council tower blocks and some of the office space remaining in use. It all began much more optimistically - built between 1967 and 1973, the intention was that the commercial activity of the re-developed Anderston would be replaced by one huge building - it encompassed offices, high-rise housing, shops, car parking and a bus station. Since the 1990s, the megastructure has undergone near continuous redevelopment including a rename to "Cadogan Square" to bring it back into respectability - the bus station, the leisure complex and most of the shopping precinct has long since been demolished to make way for new office blocks.
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Isometric

What is the value of social space? Public areas shape community ties in neighbourhoods. Public spaces play a vital role in the social and economic life of communities. New kinds of public spaces and meeting places are being created in many towns and cities, which I feel is an important social resource. The therapeutic benefits of quiet time spent in the park; places where people can display their culture and identities and learn awareness of diversity and difference; opportunities for children and young people to meet, play or simply be couldn’t be more vital in this digital age.
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Urban Gallery Space

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Retail Space

The retail space is an opportunity for the products made in the workshops to be merchandised. The shop would be the only independent trade happening in the area, providing the area with some grass roots retail.
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Bringing Cadogan Square back to life.

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This elevation of the right side of the complex illustrates the flow of the site and the ways in which the site's purpose spans across a multitude of uses.
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Concrete Conservatory

The juxtaposition of manmade and natural beauty sits within this design. In the city where can you see foliage combined with huge slabs of post-war concrete? Fittingly for a place that mixes beauty and industrialism like Glasgow. Architecture is always embedded within a larger context. Whether environmental or cultural in nature, buildings and structures. Botanical gardens and greenhouses showcase this notion perfectly.
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HOT-SPOTS

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Community Cafe

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P L A Y R O O M

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Importance of Play.

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