The Red Road flats in Petershill c 1960s.
The two 31-storey tower blocks and four 31-storey point blocks were designed for Glasgow Corporation in 1962 by Sam Bunton & Associates and at that time were the tallest residential blocks in Europe. They were built with steel frames clad in asbestos panels, the first time such a technique had been used in Glasgow. The asbestos has since been replaced.
As with many other high-rise schemes, poor planning and cost-cutting resulted in a lack of amenities, poor services and a high incidence of vandalism and other social problems. In 1980 two blocks of flats were declared unfit to live. A rescue programme resulted in the conversion of one for student and executive use and another for the YMCA. In recent years some of the Red Road flats have housed Kosovan refugees and are now home to asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa, Asia, the former Soviet Union, Iran and Iraq.
Reference: 930.99.110
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
asylum seekers, council houses, Glasgow Corporation, housing estates, housing schemes, multi-storey flats, refugees, Sam Bunton & Associates, tower blocks, YMCA
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