October 11 2016

Page\Park Architects are bidding to bring a forgotten survivor of the Gorbals’ tenement past back to life with a full rehabilitation of the A listed former British Linen Bank on behalf of Southside Housing Association.The at risk landmark is one of a handful of listed buildings to survive in the area, making it a priority for refurbishment to arrest further deterioration of the structure following completion of the adjacent Laurieston regeneration scheme Under the plans ironmongery and other period features will be restored where possible together with the creation of a number of elements originally conceived by architect James Salmon but which went unrealised in the finished design.This includes installation of a roof turret and recreation of metal balustrading to the third floor balcony as well as a reworked gable elevation through a sculptural artwork to enliven a planned linear park.In a design statement the architects said: “Using the Cor-ten steel utilised in the arches we would work with the Gorbals Arts Project to produce a perforated design that wraps around the blank walls of the tower to create a landmark for the park.The Perforated panels, with pronounced joints aligning with string-courses, would be backlit to provide a feature marker to the linear park to complement the nighttime activity of the Citizens Theatre and O2 academy“This would also provide a dramatic backdrop to a proposed outdoor seating area to the cafe/bar served by a new access formed at the ground floor of the gable.”A courtyard wall would also be opened up with metal screens to provide access and views to a backcourt area.