{"id":770621,"date":"2025-01-22T07:39:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T07:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=770621"},"modified":"2025-01-23T12:36:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T12:36:40","slug":"collective-architecture-helps-put-govan-back-on-the-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/collective-architecture-helps-put-govan-back-on-the-map","title":{"rendered":"Collective Architecture helps put Govan back on the map"},"content":{"rendered":"

Flanking the northern edge of the Govan district and directly connected to the River Clyde, Water Row was once part of Glasgow\u2019s renowned shipbuilding industry, which thrived from the 18th century until its decline in the mid-20th century. In its prime, large workforces were attracted to Govan, which resulted in rapid population growth and constructive development through tenement dwellings and industrial infrastructure. Economic hardship and social challenges arose when the shipping industry collapsed and thousands became unemployed, fracturing Govan\u2019s tight-knit community and leaving the area overlooked and starved of investment for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, in recent years dedicated grassroots efforts are revitalising Govan through local groups and organisations. Glasgow City Council has been supporting its growth in partnership with initiatives such as the Central Govan Action Plan, whose aim is to recharge the town with the vitality and activity it once boasted.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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It is under this partnership that Collective Architecture was commissioned to develop a mixed-use masterplan at Water Row for Govan Housing Association. The first phase, completed in May 2024, comprises five distinct linear blocks addressing the Clyde waterfront to the north and Govan Cross shopping centre to the south. Each block is a modest four to six storeys high; together they provide 92 apartments and six ground-floor commercial spaces.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The blocks are bound by a proud but permeable precast concrete and brick colonnade, which acts as a structural wayfinder for non-residents by wrapping the north, west and south public perimeter of the site. This effectively separates the blocks into private residential and public realms while managing a high footfall that lands directly in front of the scheme from the Govan-Partick footbridge.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bridge, which opened in September 2024, is a significant move in Glasgow City Council\u2019s goal to regenerate Govan and transform the city\u2019s waterfront. It reawakens a meaningful historical link between both sides of the river. Collective Architecture was aware of plans for the bridge from the outset and ensured that it became a focal point of the Water Row masterplan. Delays due to the Covid pandemic resulted in a positive opportunity for collaboration between Phase 1 of Water Row and the bridge development, so the projects opened months apart. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Burrows, principal officer within the council\u2019s planning service, has noted: \u2018The integration of new housing at Water Row with the public realm around the Govan-Partick Bridge is testament to the collaborative approach taken by Collective Architecture. Completion of the project is a major milestone in delivering the council\u2019s vision to make the River Corridor a vibrant, inclusive and well-connected place.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had determined a one-in-200-year risk of flooding for the site and to address this the development is pulled back from the riverfront and raised about 1.1m above the pre-existing ground condition. Collective Architecture and landscape architect rankinfraser integrated this level change into the design, maintaining accessible public space and providing gradual slopes for residents into the scheme\u2019s step-free internal courtyard. Commercial units, aiming to be filled by summer 2025, will anchor and perpetuate activity in the water-facing public space.<\/span><\/p>\n

The massing of the housing blocks is opened up by slate roofs whose pitches alternate in direction. The buildings get lower in height as they approach the River Clyde almost as a gesture of respect. It\u2019s clear that the scheme\u2019s scale has been monitored so as not to compete with the surrounding historical context and instead it works to welcome the public deeper into Govan. <\/span><\/p>\n

Project architect Mairi Laverty says: \u2018The roof pitches came from the masterplan stages as an idea of ribbons in linear forms running down to the river. They allow views through, while echoing the strong gables around the wider site.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The scheme\u2019s five blocks frame an internal courtyard. Openings in the perimeter colonnade allow access and strategic views through the development. The courtyard consists of semi-public space, play space, vehicle access and parking spaces for an overall 40 per cent of the units, a reduced parking ratio justified by the strong accessible transport links \u2013 bus, subway, cycling and pedestrian routes \u2013 in the local area.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The scheme\u2019s material palette is restrained, comprising brick, concrete and zinc cladding. Two subtly different tones of brick reflect the blonde sandstone of Govan & Linthouse Parish Church (Robert Baldie, 1873) and the red sandstone of the former British Linen Bank (James Salmon Jr, 1897), both in the development\u2019s immediate context. These tones are united in the red pigmented zinc that clads recessed pocket balconies and wraps the sharp undulating dormer windows on the south elevation, creating a landmark fa\u00e7ade at Govan Cross. A belt of buff red soldier brick runs along the datum height of the colonnade, banding the development together and providing a clean and cost-effective detail for passers-by to experience while visually separating the active ground-floor spaces from residential above.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Above ground floor level are varying two-bed, four-person apartment types all designed to the Glasgow Standard. Resident Jade McKenzie welcomed us into her dual-aspect flat, which sits at the south-western edge of Block 1C. We entered a bright, L-shaped corridor before coming into the living\/dining\/kitchen area, which is lit from large openings in the west and south elevations. The two bedrooms are arranged to the south-east. One bedroom gives onto a large, recessed balcony with extensive views across south-west Govan. Each space offers abundant natural light and freedom of movement, since almost unnoticeable recessed sprinklers allowed for fire-rated doors to be dispensed with.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that Collective Architecture kept the project focused on quality and the residents\u2019 experience. Laverty recalls: \u2018We fought hard not to have any balconies compromised nor \u2006value-engineered out.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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However, the architects collaborated closely with the contractor, CCG, to value-engineer smaller areas that didn\u2019t sacrifice the people-centred design quality nor sustainability ethos of the proposal. Stairwells were made more compact and commercial floorplates were reduced to support economic equilibrium. The development is one of the first social housing projects in Glasgow not to use gas boilers. High-retention storage heaters heat each room within the units, which work efficiently in tandem with Collective\u2019s fabric-first, robust envelope.<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as aiming for a Passivhaus standard of detailing, the scheme aspires to be socially sustainable. A representative of Govan Housing Association comments that the company managing the maintenance of the scheme will provide apprenticeships and youth training programmes, adding that any money made through the development and its subsequent phases will be reinvested back into the area. <\/span><\/p>\n

Care, collaboration and patience are legible ingredients of Collective Architecture\u2019s people-centred design at Water Row. As the first phase of their mixed-use masterplan, the housing scheme has set a standard in Glasgow City for high-quality, sustainably integrated architecture produced through tenacity and contextual understanding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Water Row not only sets a robust precedent for quality affordable housing rooted in place, but its considerate site response and integration into an historically significant site is laudable. Echoing the character of its context, collaboration has been part of the project development and elemental to its success, and Glasgow will continue to see the benefits recycled back into the economic and social structure of Govan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aoife Bl\u00e1thnaid Nolan is an architectural assistant and founder of Glasgow-based ism architecture magazine<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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Project data<\/span><\/h3>\n

Start on site<\/strong>\u00a0\u200aPhase 1: September 2018
\nCompletion<\/b>\u00a0\u200a30 April 2024
\nGross internal floor area<\/b>\u00a0\u200a10,026m2
\n<\/sup>Construction cost<\/b>\u00a0\u200a\u00a324.7 million
\nConstruction cost per m2<\/sup><\/b>\u00a0\u00a32,464 (including externals and public realm)
\nArchitect<\/b>\u00a0\u200aCollective Architecture
\nClient<\/b>\u00a0\u200aGovan Housing Association\/Glasgow City Council
\nStructural engineer<\/b>\u00a0\u200aG3 Consulting Engineers
\nQuantity surveyor <\/b>Brown + Wallace
\nLandscape architect<\/b>\u00a0rankinfraser landscape architecture
\nLighting design<\/b>\u00a0Foto-MA
\nProject manager<\/b>\u00a0N\/A
\nPrincipal designer<\/b>\u00a0G3 Consulting Engineers
\nCDM co-ordinator<\/b>\u00a0Brown + Wallace
\nApproved building inspector <\/b>Glasgow City Council
\nMain contractor<\/b>\u00a0CCG (Scotland)
\nCAD software used<\/b>\u00a0Revit<\/p>\n

Sustainability data<\/span><\/h3>\n

Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >2%<\/b>\u00a0Not calculated
\nPercentage of floor area with daylight factor >5%<\/b>\u00a0Not calculated
\nOn-site energy generation<\/b>\u00a030.1%
\nHeating and hot water load<\/b>\u00a040.59 kWh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr
\nTotal energy load<\/b>\u00a031.72 kWh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr
\nCarbon emissions (all)<\/b>\u00a016.46 kgCO2<\/sub><\/span>\/m2<\/sup>
\nAnnual mains water consumption<\/b>\u00a0Unknown
\nAirtightness at 50Pa<\/b>\u00a04.36 m3<\/sup>\/hr\/m2<\/sup> (average)
\nOverall thermal bridging heat transfer coefficient (Y-value)<\/b>\u00a00.06 W\/m2<\/sup>K (average)
\nOverall area-weighted U-value<\/b>\u00a00.26 W\/m2<\/sup>K (average across all elements)
\nEmbodied\/ whole-life carbon <\/b>Not calculated
\nPredicted design life<\/b>\u00a060-80 years<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flanking the northern edge of the Govan district and directly connected to the River Clyde, Water Row was once part of Glasgow\u2019s renowned shipbuilding industry, which thrived from the 18th century until its decline in the mid-20th century. In its prime, large workforces were attracted to Govan, which resulted in rapid population growth and constructive …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17071,"featured_media":771145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[3383,1436,1155,1166],"yoast_head":"\nCollective Architecture helps put Govan back on the map<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Collective Architecture has completed Phase 1 of a scheme aiming to reconnect and help regenerate the former shipbuilding district of Govan, writes Aoife Bl\u00e1thnaid Nolan. 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