A socially responsive project commissioned by IAMH (Inverclyde association for mental health) with the vision of providing a Horticultural training centre and community space in Greenock, Renfrewshire.
The facility is conceived as a walled garden in an urban area, with the aim of creating an environment where gardening and horticulture is used as a means of excising and nurturing the mental health of residence in the local community.
The main building is nestled neatly in the corner of a site where the boundary topography rises over the full height of the single storey structure along each side. Stepped reinforced concrete retaining walls are employed as the subterranean inner leaf along the rising boundaries creating a level site. In addition to performing retaining duties the concrete walls also serve to provide vertical support and brace a steel roof frame structure. This allows slender steel columns to be used along fully glazed courtyard elevations which are free from X-bracing. Steel roof beams within the depth of precast concrete slabs are used to provide support for a functional green roof gardening area, while internally creating a column free space with flat soffits.

The roof garden is enveloped by a perforated brick parapet wall with sharp detailing and coordination employed to ensure that windposts are hidden from line of sight while allowing for the uninterrupted flow of the perforations.
Challenges were negotiated during the construction of this project. These included the assessment of a listed brick culvert and slope stability analysis of an existing railway cutting, running along the bottom boundary of the site for construction stage traffic and loading scenarios.
with thanks to Keith Hunter Photopgraphy

• Client: In- work Entreprises
• Architect: Inch Architecture
• Value: £1.85m

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