a counsel house
TO CARE II
This project is based in a post-2100 Glasgow and explores the changes that rising sea levels could have on the river Clyde and the surrounding topography. This is combined with the notion that the Scottish islands have characteristics that promoted better well-being – higher levels of happiness and liver levels of anxiety. The result of these ideas is the emergence of an island in the overflown Clyde in central Glasgow which provides an environment that is part of the traditional urban fabric of the city, and at the same time is isolated from it.The counsel house is situated on that island and draws inspiration from the vernacular architecture of the Scottish islands in terms or materiality, form and integration with the landscape. The aim of the building is to create a peaceful environment in the middle of the city that could not be imagined without a major transformation of almost apocalyptic scale, such as the rising sea levels. The building typology is completely new for Glasgow, as is its surrounding context, and it can hold a strong civic presence through its prominent location and recognizable character. With the new typography that comes with environmental changes, this building typology could be replicated in other places along the river Clyde.The building engages with the concept of “caring” for the city by addressing the climate anxiety that has started to emerge nowadays and will be a ceaseless part of the lives of people in a hundred years. A type of sanctuary is created, an escape from the city, in the city, which nurtures people’s spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing.
