THESSALONIKI DESIGN WEEK | 04.10.2019
Title.Re-Imagine The City’s Vacant land_The new urban edible green.
Project year. 2019
Location. Glasgow, Broomielaw
Team: Stamatia Tsatsi, Miltos Kalogeris [m2 Architects]
Software. Autocad, 3ds Max, Corona renderer, Photoshop
Status. Idea
Project year. 2019
Location. Glasgow, Broomielaw
Team: Stamatia Tsatsi, Miltos Kalogeris [m2 Architects]
Software. Autocad, 3ds Max, Corona renderer, Photoshop
Status. Idea
Due to rapid urbanization, the quality of urban areas has changed on various aspects – in environmental, social as well as economic ways. Another difficulty that cities have had to deal with is the issue of vacant areas, caused by the change of their production structures. Glasgow appears to be a city with many social, economic and environmental issues. Over the last three decades, Glasgow’s citizens have tried to renew the city and move away from the past industrial period.
This project aims to propose a new urban order in the Broomielaw area, in Glasgow, cooping with issues such as vacant spots and social problems. Urban Food Community Gardens appears to be a sustainable city practice which can offer a different use of the land, since multiple functions can be integrated in densely populated areas and improve the quality of the surrounding environment. The implementation of this Urban Agriculture practice can enhance issues such as diversity, increase everyday quality of life regardless of density, and strike the appropriate balance between building the structures we need and preserving a green environment. The joint effect of these elements not only improve environmental, social and economic aspects but can also enhance “Resilience” in urban contexts.
Two different design approaches on Urban Food Community Gardening, are analysed and proposed in the area of Broomielaw in Glasgow, dividing the location in two different parts (Area A-Area B).Both areas have certain commonalities; they are characterized by lack of green spaces, a not well connected street pattern, vacant land, very low density, large plots sizes, lack of attractiveness and permeability, which overall lead to lack of identity of a place. So, a design of an effectively accessible grid (streets and pedestrian routes) is needed for both cases.
In the first approach, area A (10.40 ha), small blocks were designed that feature allotment-type community gardens. In this case, the residents of each block separately will decide if and who can have access to the block. In the middle of this area an Urban Public Park was created, which has the size of a usual Glasgow square. In the second approach, area B (17.95 ha), the typology of small blocks is different as they have shared blocks gardens. In this case, there are pedestrian pathways (west-east) giving locals and visitors the opportunity to pass through the site. In the middle of area B, a corporate Urban Park was designed inside a superblock.
Finally, the main conclusion of this study is that when the same strategy (Urban Food Community Gardening) is adopted in the same city but in different ways within it, their construction can take different urban forms, eventually providing everyone with different outcomes in terms of environmental, social and economic benefits.
