Ellie Parsons

A Sense of Safety // Greenock

This project is based in the port town of Greenock, Scotland. The project aims to house unaccompanied young adults that are seeking asylum in Scotland. As young adults between the ages of 17-25, it is likely they have limited experience living independently, on top of the existing struggles they face as refugees. The project aims to build community and belonging and provide services to improve their experience.

The existing building on-site, known locally as the ‘Glebe’ is a 19th century sugar refinery. The project proposes to internally retrofit it into generous residential apartments, designed for flexible living. These facilitate a variety of preferences such as floor seating for socialising and eating, and window shutters to control levels of privacy.

The scheme provides an on-site skills centre and mental health service for the occupants as well as refugees and asylum seekers that live nearby. The plan is introspective and utilises courtyards to bring light and greenery deep into the plan. The building creates safety in belonging, healing, and community, through key design decisions such as key-in-door access, avoidance of euro-centric design, opportunities for retreat, domestic-scale therapy spaces, and flexible opportunities for private and public social gatherings of various scales.