SAORLA HANLEY

The Stilts // Greenock

In the face of the UK’s housing crisis, we must take care of our existing housing stock. This project seeks to rethink a 1960s social housing estate in Greenock to produce a happier, healthier and more resilient community. Disproportionately facing issues such as deteriorating health and exposure to fuel poverty, it is essential that social housing residents are provided with warm, comfortable and caring homes.

The site, named ‘The Stilts’ after a series of flats suspended over sets of garages, is located in a region with the highest extreme fuel poverty rates in Scotland. With the reimagining of the scheme, a fabric first retrofit and new-build approach reduces ongoing costs for residents.

Bringing communal facilities together in the heart of the scheme, the new-build ‘Common House’ provides new housing and a centrepoint for residents across the estate to gather, socialise and collaborate. Increased socialisation between residents is a key driver of the project, to aid mental wellbeing and build community resilience. As such, the winter garden deck access provides warm, sheltered entry to allow neighbours to stop and interact, otherwise made difficult by the cold, wet Scottish climate.