Blog: 107 Niddrie Road
Niddrie Road is a quietly unassuming street, just along from Queens Park, in the southside of Glasgow. I myself have walked by, on my way from the Train Station towards the park, and never noticed this hidden gem that is 107 Niddrie Road. I suppose it was designed to blend in, and despite its subtlety, it doesn’t fail to impress me in its quiet brilliance. The project I am referring to is the deep retrofit of a traditional tenement block on Niddrie Road, containing eight, one-bed flats. This isn't any standard retrofit however, this pushed the boundaries of possible energy [...]
Blog: Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline
Architect: John Fraser Year Completed: 1922 Many times when we talk about architecture we think only of new buildings, where the architect's job is to think and design from scratch how these new spaces will look and feel. This idea is not far from reality but it is also the work of architects to preserve buildings that were once an important part in the history and daily life of certain places. Many buildings end up being demolished for different reasons such as high maintenance costs, the dynamics of the place have changed or simply due to lack of interest. Last [...]
Blog: Ayr Grammar Primary School
Architect: BDP Completed: 2021This project is about re-use and a re-imagination of historic education buildings as a new facility for teaching, learning and community spaces. It cleverly integrates new additions with the refurbishment of the listed buildings. An unexpected element of the project is a large archive facility, space created where an old moat had been infilled. The archive rooms do not require light so enabled the school playground to be doubled in size as part of the archive roof design. The particular aspects of the scheme that I considered to have particular merit were the central hall used for dining [...]
