Pollok Civic Realm Glasgow

Pollok Civic Realm

The £6.7 million Pollok Civic Realm, designed by Archial Architects, has won a Royal Institute of British Architects Regional Award the day after it was officially opened by Nicola Sturgeon, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing.

Built between the newly expanded Pollok Health Centre and the Pollok Leisure Centre, Pollok Civic Realm is Glasgow’s first facility with truly integrated health and social work and leisure facilities. Forming part of the overall Pollok Town Centre regeneration, it houses a café, library, museum, child-care facilities and other specialist social and healthcare related services.

Calum MacCalman, director of Archial Architects, said, “We are delighted to win this prestigious RIBA award for this magnificent building. I would personally like to thank everyone involved with the project, particularly Russell Baxter and Nick Peaker, who were instrumental in the design and delivery of the project on behalf of Archial.”
Russell Baxter of Archial Architects said, “The idea behind this facility was to create a colonnade providing a route interlinking the Pollok community with the new transport interchange and Silverburn shopping centre so that people are drawn through the building and, by virtue of this route, encouraged to make use of their civil amenities.
“The philosophy underlying the building design was to create a civic hub that housed all the various essential aspects of communal life under one roof. With that in mind, the building seeks to create an all-inclusive space with all its constituents spiralling off from a central reception desk.
“The design sought to create the type of building that members of the public would be familiar with and feel comfortable within to encourage them to spend time frequenting the various aspects of the hub, and already there are indications that this objective has been achieved successfully.”
From a single entrance the public access the refurbished leisure centre, new Pollok Library and Pollok Kist, GSWRA, South West Stress Centre, Citizens Advice Bureau, café and the refurbished and expanded Health Centre. As such, the Civic Realm also provides opportunities for effective and innovative joint working through co-location of services. Given the multiple stakeholders involved in the Pollok Civic Realm, the design process involved a comprehensive consultation process.
Mr Baxter said, “Because there was such a diverse array of clients involved in the project, ultimately that gave us more freedom to introduce colours and graphics into the design. The idea was to create a building that was fun to use, though whilst we were able to be bold in terms of design, the successful delivery of the project was achieved through detailed co-ordination and consultation with all the participating bodies that comprise the civic hub.”
Already, the pioneering Pollok Civic Realm building is being tipped as an exemplar to which future community hubs should aspire. Indeed, it has also been nominated for a Scottish Design Award 2009.
The Archial Group Plc employs around 200 staff in Scotland, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.

Previously:

Archial Architects’ £6.7 Million Pollok Civic Realm Officially Opened by Nicola Sturgeon MSP and Shortlisted for Two Awards

Pollok Civic Realm

22 May 2009

Officially opened today (20.05.09) by Nicola Sturgeon, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, the £6.7 million Pollok Civic Realm, designed by Archial Architects, has been shortlisted for two prestigious awards: a RIBA Award, presented to the best new buildings in the United Kingdom and a Best Regeneration Project at the Scottish Design Awards 2009.

Built between the newly expanded Pollok Health Centre and the Pollok Leisure Centre, Pollok Civic Realm is a unique facility providing one stop access to a range of complementary public services delivered by partners in the public and voluntary sectors. Forming part of the overall Pollok Town Centre regeneration, it houses a café, library, museum, child-care facilities and other specialist social and healthcare related services.
Russell Baxter of Archial Architects said, “The idea behind this facility was to create a colonnade providing a route interlinking the Pollok community with the new transport interchange and Silverburn shopping centre so that people are drawn through the building and, by virtue of this route, encouraged to make use of their civil amenities.

Pollok Civic Realm photograph : Andrew Lee