Basic Site Details

Name: Red Road Housing
Town, district or village: Balornock
City or county: Glasgow
Country: Scotland
Parish:  
Status:  
Grid ref:
Notes: Six 31-storey tower blocks; two slabs of 26-7 storeys; eight threey-storey walk-up blocks

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 1Housing scheme  

Street Addresses

The following street addresses are associated with this building:
 AddressMain entrance?Notes
Item 1 of 1Red Road  

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 514 April 1961 Proposed1,470 houses in multi-storey blocks per Builder p730
Item 2 of 519621969Build/construction 
Item 3 of 57 September 1962  Replacement of reinforced concrete by steel in the erection of 1,356 multi-storey flats.
Item 4 of 53 January 1964 *  From Builder (p48) - 'Corporation is handling 1,365 houses in a new project at red Road, Balornock, where a revised estimate of £4,905,273 has been prepared as against the former figure of £5,594,177, to meet Department of Health regulations'
Item 5 of 56 May 1964  From Architect and Building News (p800-801): A series of 28- and 31-storey blocks, the highest in Glasgow, are being built to designs of Sam Bunton and Associates by the Corporation's direct-labour department in association with the Multi-Storey Steel Consortium. 1,356 dwellings in steel-framed multi-storey flats at a cost of £6 million.

* earliest date known from documented sources.


People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 7W A Fairhurst & Partners    Consulting engineers
Item 2 of 7Weir Housing Corporation Ltd    Provided external cladding panels
Item 3 of 7Glasgow Corporation Housing Department (later Architectural & Planning Department, Glasgow Corporation)  19611969 
Item 4 of 7F A MacDonald & Partners  19621969Consulting engineers
Item 5 of 7Glasgow Corporation Direct Labour Dept  19621969With Multi-Storey Steel Consortium
Item 6 of 7Sam Bunton A19621969Design
Item 7 of 7Sam Bunton & Associates A19621969Design

Clients

The following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design:
 NameNotes
Item 1 of 1Glasgow Corporation 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 6Glendinning, M, MacInnes, R and MacKechnie, A1996A History of Scottish Architecture  p557
Item 2 of 6Glendinning, Miles1997Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75  Tuckwell Press Ltd 
Item 3 of 6Glendinning, Miles1997Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75  Tuckwell Press Ltdpp22, 59, 102, 105-10, 145, 150-1, 177, 185
Item 4 of 6Glendinning, Miles and Muthesius, Stefan1994Tower Block: Modern Public Housing in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Yale University Press: New Haven and LondonCover, p31, p65, p75, p232 Photograph of construction, p233 Photographs of construction and opening, p234, p235; p237, p239, p262, p315, p318, p321, p329, p381, Gazetteer 2
Item 5 of 6Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland Tenements and Towers: Glasgow Working Class Housing, 1890-1930   
Item 6 of 6Williamson, Riches, Higgs1990Glasgow (The Buildings of Scotland)  p433

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 12Architect and Building News6 May 1964  p800-801
Item 2 of 12Architectural ReviewNovember 1967  p343
Item 3 of 12Builder14 April 1961  p730
Item 4 of 12Builder19 October 1962  p769
Item 5 of 12Builder7 September 1962  p517
Item 6 of 12Builder15 March 1963  p568
Item 7 of 12Builder3 January 1964  p48
Item 8 of 12Building6 October 1967  p133 [ad for Expandite panels showing buildings during construction]
Item 9 of 12International Asbestos Cement ReviewOctober 196644 p21-5
Item 10 of 12RIBA JournalFebruary 1967 London: Royal Institute of British Architectsp46
Item 11 of 12Systems Building and DesignMay 1967  p50-3
Item 12 of 12Town and Country Planning1 August 1982  p177-9 'The story of Red Road Flats'

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 1Strathclyde Regional ArchivesGlasgow Dean of GuildGCA DG 1962/825, 827