Basic Site Details Name: | Pollokshaws CDA Unit 2 housing, police station, library, schools | Town, district or village: | Pollokshaws | City or county: | Glasgow | Country: | Scotland | Parish: | | Status: | | Grid ref: | | Notes: | Shopping centre, police station, library, nursery and primary schools, and housing. Also (Campbell's Nomination Paper) public houses and service trades.
Housing comprised 1500 dwellings in a mixutre of 16-23 storeys, low blocks of maisonettes (four-five storeys), and two-storey terrace houses. The site was developed generally from south to north, with later infill around the edges. The first development comprised one 20-storey, three 16-storey, two five-storey, and two-four storey blocks. From 1964, the height of the new towers was stepped up to 23 storeys, and the final multi-storey block (a 17-storey slab at the extreme south-west) was not finished until 1974.
Tall blocks in this development were the first 'factory-made' flats in Scotland. Of Bison construction, they were the first large Bison contract in Scotland and were manufactured by Concrete Scotland Ltd in its Falkirk factory.
| Building Type ClassificationThe building is classified under the following categories: | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Housing | | | | Library | | | | School | | | | Police station | | |
Street AddressesThe following street addresses are associated with this building: | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | Kinnishead Road | | in the south-west | | Riverford Road | | in the north-east | | Shawbridge Street | | Is the axis in the development |
EventsThe following date-based events are associated with this building: | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 1960s | | Build/construction | Library. | | 2 September 1960 | | Scheme accepted | £4.5m. Boswell, Mitchell & Johnston scheme approved by the Corporation's Housing Committee; 1,500 houses to be built in seven 16-storey blocks and four 20-storey blocks divided by a series of squares stretching from Kennishead Road in the southwest to Riverford Road in the northeast; the central square will include shops with covered walks, banks and offices and a roof-level restaurant; a new road system will be designed at Pollokshaws round toll with pedestrian underpasses per Builder p450 | | 1962 | 1974 | Build/construction | Construction of the first 16-storey block began in mid-September, 1962, was completed at the end of November, 1963. Phases 1 and 2 will be completed by July, 1964, a total time of 110 weeks from start to finish (per Builder, 13 March 1964, p567). | | January 1962 | | Contract offered | Unit No. 2. Phase 1 (416 houses). Several works contract. One block, 20 storeys, 89 houses; 3 blocks, 16 storeys 231 houses; 2 blocks, 5 storeys, 48 houses and 2 blocks, 4 storeys, 48 houses. Garages, lockups, pavings, steps, retaining walls, drainage (per Builder p226). |
PeopleDesign and ConstructionClientsThe following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design: | | Name | Notes | | Glasgow Corporation | |
Related Buildings, Structures and DesignsParent Structure and SiteThis structure is related to the following parent structure or site (click the item to view details): | | Building name | Notes | | Pollokshaws CDA | Pollokshaws CDA was declared in 1958. It was the only CDA with a housing gain and involved the redevelopment of a derelict industrial area. It was divided into two units: Unit 1, the old burgh centre, and Unit 2, the south section (south of Riverford Road). |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this building: | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Glendinning, M, MacInnes, R and MacKechnie, A | 1996 | A History of Scottish Architecture | | | p555 | | Glendinning, Miles | 1997 | Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75 | | Tuckwell Press Ltd | p46 Pollokshaws CDA Unit 2 Photograph | | Glendinning, Miles and Muthesius, Stefan | 1994 | Tower Block: Modern Public Housing in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland | | Yale University Press: New Haven and London | p228 | | RIBA | 1970 | RIBA Directory 1970 | | | | | Williamson, Riches, Higgs | 1990 | Glasgow (The Buildings of Scotland) | | | p563, pp564-5 |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this building: | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 2 September 1960 | | | 'Development of Pollokshaws Area' p450 | | Builder | 26 January 1962 | | | p226 | | Builder | 13 March 1964 | | | p567 | | Builder | 8 May 1964 | | | | | Interbuild | November 1961 | | | | | Official Architecture and Planning | March 1958 | | | |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this building: | | Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | Frabk Campbell: F no 5665 (Combined Box 93) | | Strathclyde Regional Archives | Glasgow Dean of Guild | | GCA DG: Phase 1, 1961/601; Phase 2, 1962/598; trades block, 1964/436; Phase 3, 1964/653; Phase 2 ext, 1967/878; Phase 4, 1968/182; Blocks 28-30, 1971/153 |
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