Chester Chesney

An architectural thesis exploring how through the implementation of new models of collective production of the city, greater emphasis can be placed on local neighborhood governing, in order to restore Glasgow’s existing aging housing stock. The project achieves this by critiquing the future potential of the tenement typology, re-establishing housing stock as a community asset, in order to form a housing model that creates a more circular neighborhood with resilient + sustainable communities at its core. Through a series of spatial interventions at varying scales within the district, users are afforded the opportunity to become active players in the future upkeep and alteration of the area.

The project begins upon the wide-scale council acquisition of existing tenement blocks within the Govanhill area, due to the ongoing increasing degradation of the typology [ Under Compulsory Purchase Orders]. In a bid to subvert Glasgows continued proactive ‘Knock em down and build em back up again’ approach to existing housing stock, the tenements are revalued and re-asserted as valuable infrastructure for community action through a district-scale retrofit proposal.

Through the introduction of a series of low-level street infills, architectural referencing the outbuildings that once inhabited the backcourts, a reproductive commons is formed to better connect the new blocks. Acting primarily as public-viewed forum, the space opens up for dialogue and discussion between residents, planning for the continual upkeep and alteration of the tenements, whilst establishing a stronger integrated public realm. The proposal therefore seeks to break down the barriers and issues associated with the current formulation of the typology, in a bid to reclaim back the ‘common’ from within the tenement.