DOUBLE VILLA

 

Pollokshields, Glasgow

Competition Entry 

2017

 

'Courtyard House'  

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A competition entry for an event run by the Alexander Thomson Society, celebrating the bicentenary of 'Greek' Thomson.  

 

The competition site is located at a  busy junction in Pollokshields, Glasgow. The proposal looks to both Greek Thomson’s Double Villa in nearby Langside for inspiration but also to the immediate context of dense tenement blocks. The site presents a series of issues that need to be addressed, primarily the best location and organisation to avoid overlooking and provide adequate private space for the two new houses.

The double villa cleverly creates a temple-like dwelling with a double frontage, where there
is no real ‘back’ to the building. However the site is considerably different and the building
is set well back from the road, surrounded by ample private garden and amenity space. The
proposal here aims to invert that diagram by creating a thickened perimeter providing a hard
edge to the surroundings while creating a secluded, calm environment within the centre of
the site.