Glasgow City Council say the contest will run as they pursue a purchase of the ‘complex’ site.
The blaze caused devastation in the area(Image: Daily Record)
A competition to redesign derelict sites at Pollokshields that were destroyed by two major fires has been launched by Glasgow City Council.
In a first for Glasgow, the council will ask architects to submit proposals of designs for new buildings on the sites that will complement the town centre at Albert Cross.
The council said the derelict sites had been a blight on the area since the tenement blocks were destroyed by fires in 2019 and 2020.
Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Convener for Housing, Development and Built Heritage at Glasgow City Council, proposed the competition and said: “Through this competition, we will transform the sites at Albert Cross on which these distinctive buildings stood before being lost through fire.
“We will be looking for exceptional and exciting designs that will restore vibrancy to a location that has been a centre of Pollokshields’ social and business life for generations.”
The B-listed tenement blocks at Albert Cross each housed several flats and businesses and were destroyed in separate fires – the first in November 2019 with the second in April 2020.
The site has been derelict since 2020
Both blocks were subsequently demolished. The council said the derelict sites “have blighted this part of Pollokshields since”, and said that because of the high cost of development and the issues around ownership of the sites, direct intervention was required to get redevelopment started.
This contest for the complex sites will be carried out by the council in collaboration with a partner organisation, the Glasgow Institute of Architects.
Design teams which are short-listed will also secure funding to help develop their proposals to a more detailed stage before a winner is selected.
That practice will then be funded to finalise their design.
Alongside the contest, the council said it will be looking to acquire the sites on a voluntary or compulsory purchase basis.
Councillor Kelly added: “Carrying out such a contest will not only restore Albert Cross and the homes and businesses lost but will also potentially provide a template for the redevelopment of gap sites in Glasgow, sites which are often found in areas with heritage buildings immediately adjacent or close by.”