No. 87 Townhead
No. 87 Townhead, Kirkintilloch
Trust Housing Association
The site consisted of a tight corner location currently with burnt out, derelict buildings to the frontage, blackened by soot, with windows removed. It had long been an eyesore and detrimental to the character of this shopping area. The site extended to approximately one third of an acre. We couldn’t go very tall and had to include parking, so this was a particularly difficult challenge. An initial desire from the client was to re-use the existing building frontage, adding the new extension of housing to the rear with on-site parking through a pend access. A small garden area, cycle storage and refuse storage were also required. The ground floor flats were designated as ‘Low Mobility’ due to the flats being so close to the town centre.
The new building was designed to create a distinctive style and create its own identity whilst reflecting the massing and character of the area itself. Common gardens and drying areas for the flats were designed in accordance with the East Dunbartonshire Council Local Plan for Garden Grounds. The building size is in accordance with the minimum space standards required for affordable homes as set out in Trust Housing Association’s Design Guide and in accordance with the design guidance in Housing for Varying Needs.
This design was required to achieve very high energy rating and we examined our clients responsibilities with EESSH/ EESSH2 guidance as well as increased funding available for energy saving. Advanced modelling with the SAP tools helped the decision making process, which was complex due to each flat being a unique thermal condition.
We are developing a strong Building Information Management (BIM) process into our Housing Association work through Revit and other building information management tools. Adding potential hazards into this work early helps to monitor them with the aim of removing them as the design progresses. Our use of (BIM) and in particular Revit on new projects is enabling us to add extra value to projects overall. At Townhead it alowed us to design in a practically real-world environment where we could update design elements to one aspect of the flats and see results update automatically across a whole range of connected constituents. It enabled us to spend more time early on in experimenting with different materials, wall types, insulation values etc and see instant results.
