Alumnus and Department Studio Tutor wins major commission

To design new 'Tenement' and 'Villa' blocks, in Pollokshaws, Glasgow

Graeme Nicholls BSc(Hons) MArch ARB RIAS RIBA is an award winning Architect, Strathclyde Alumnus and Department of Architecture Tutor

Graeme was trained at the Department of Architecture and at North Carolina State University in the United States. As well as running his new office he also delivers teaching in Design Studio in the Department, allowing for a strong link between practice and research.

Graeme has just won a major commission to design a ‘Tenement’ and ‘Villa’ block in Pollokshaws, Glasgow. He formed his practice, 'Graeme Nicholls Architects' in 2016. In this scheme Graeme achieved his aim of collaboration with his clients while placing the needs of the community and the building users 'at the heart' of the process.

This is an impressive size of commission for a new practice, in total 24 flats will be housed in two blocks, synthesising the prevalent building typologies of the adjacent streets, ie the Villa and the Tenement. Graeme described the inspiration for the design elements of the project on Ashtree Road,

Conceptually, our project seeks to develop a narrative which relates to the history of Pollokshaws. The neighbourhood flourished as a centre of textile production in the industrial era, which resulted in an influx of skilled Flemish weavers to help meet the workforce demands. Using human scale and proportions as a starting point, we have included a series of motifs related to both weaving and Flemish architecture throughout the design, including a woven pattern created across the façade in the careful placement of windows, the use of Flemish bond and textures in the black brick cladding, and more.

Internally two flexible flat layouts can accommodate a variety of living arrangements by the inclusion of unique architectural devices which encourage user customisation.

Location: Ashtree Road, Pollokshaws, Glasgow
Client: Merchant Homes Partnerships Ltd.
Area: 2135m2
Status: Completion 2018

An article celebrating his success has also been published in the Architects’ Journal