INCH ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

The extensive structural repair work taking place at the Trotters Building is almost complete, with the focus of the work now shifting to the internal features of the building! INCH have been working closely with the design team and contractor to ensure that the whole building has been suitably assessed in an effort to maximise the amount of retainable building fabric and structure. This method reflects the best practice approach to retrofit and aligns with INCH’s commitment to our own Net Zero Strategy and Carbon Toolkit in minimising the embodied carbon in the buildings we design. See our website for more information on the refurbishment of the historic Trotters Building and INCH’s Net Zero Strategy. New Cumnock Development Trust PMP Cundall Taylor and Fraser #onsite #construction #newcumnock #trottersbuilding #community #architecture #communityarchitecture #retrofit

Our approach is evidence and strengths based, meaning we implement research led projects with clients, stakeholders and users so that together, we can widen our knowledge and understanding of key issues which influence our environment and through doing so, improve the quality of the spaces we design and inhabit. Our TIPS project (Trauma Informed Places & Spaces), a collaboration with Articulate Cultural Trust aims to promotes healing, improve physical health, mental health, and overall well-being of care experienced young people & their community. We acknowledge that these young people occupy space and have a different sensory relationship with it than their counterpoints do. The built environment can present several challenges to positive experiences, and our goal is to understand and rectify this. In 2024, we were delighted to be shortlisted in the Health & Place Category of Thornton Education Trusts’ Inspire Future Generations awards for this work. The ongoing relationship between INCH and ACT forged during lockdown around the shared ambition of widening access to creative industries began in our first collaboration (alongside Strangefield) when we helped save The Pipe Factory, a treasured heritage building in Glasgow. As founding partners in The Friends of the Pipe Factory CIC and we are proud and excited that the construction phase began in 2024. This project has placed us ‘client’ side and in a unique position having first-hand experience of the pressures and decision-making process for non-profit organisations & voluntary boards. INCH also led a UKRI funded research project, ‘Housing for Ageing for 2040+’, which sought to understand the opportunities and challenges facing both social landlords and social housing tenants through examination of housing performance data and retrofit solutions. The project collaborators included Hanover Scotland, Stirling University’s Dementia Services Development Centre, Space Group / Twinview, and iOpt. Further information on the study and its findings will be published this year.

At our core we are designers and learners all striving towards a common goal; to produce excellent work underpinned by social and environmental sustainability and built, in unison with unique socio-economic demands.   Our work varies in scale and remit from the retrofit of Eastworks in Dalmarnock, (shortlisted for an AJ Retrofit Award and a BCO regional winner), to the re-imagining of the village shop in New Cumnock including for a ‘remakery’ for the repair, reuse and repurposing of textiles, furniture and household items.   Architecture is only one of our objectives, however unsurprisingly it is the tool that we use to meet all others. We believe the studio to be a supportive, creative and professional environment in which to learn and progress and with our experience of teaching in architectural education, we aim to support young individuals into architectural practice and to continue to support young architectural students into the workplace. Outwardly this includes offering mentoring and apprentice positions when possible. Within the practice, last year Ryan Wilson gained his professional Part 3 qualification, we welcomed Caitlin Griffiths for her Part 1 placement and Andy Milne gained Passivhaus certification.

The practice has supported over 30 third sector organisations since its creation, helping often first- and last-time clients who are inexperienced in the design and development of their built ambitions.   This post showcases Broomhill Garden Community Hub (BGCH), Craigend Resource Centre (CRC) and Parklea Branching Out (PBO). We led these projects from the outset, supporting both CRC and PCO to secure funding, complete the asset transfer of land for CRC and navigate the design and construction process for all. Central to the proposals has been ensuring long-term viability, working alongside a business consultant, the client, stakeholders and their communities.   These projects are exemplars of community-led health and wealth building. They highlight how architecture can be used to attract new users, creating pathways to services for those who may not be contactable by other means.   At the end of 2023 we were able to gift our surplus to 10 of our clients (including the above) enabling them to address some of their own social objectives from stocking food banks to purchasing equipment and funding outreach programmes.

Did you know that INCH is a social enterprise? This means that the practice operates under a revenue positive business model, using surplus to address social and/or environmental issues (rather than making profit for directors and shareholders). We believe in the value of this business model and are guided by civic principles of inclusivity, integrity and impact.   Our mission is high quality architecture & design is for everyone, and we have 6 objectives embedded in our constitution - a Memorandum of Articles - that help us towards achieving this: these are reinvestment, community, architecture, education, research and collaboration.   Whilst 2025 is still in relative infancy, we have been reflecting on how we met our objectives in 2024. The following 3 posts aim to highlight a sample of how we work, starting with a trio of community projects that helped us be recognised as the 2024 Building Design Architect of the Year for Social Value.

INCH’s founding directors Lesley Palmer & Alisdair Clements are pleased to have been interviewed by scott wright for an article featured in today’s issue of the Herald.   Lesley and Alisdair reflected on the practice’s founding vision 13 years on, that have defined the practice’s work and legacy and the role architectural practices must play in responding to the new challenges that contemporary cities face.   The full article is available on the Herald's website and in the Herald's Business HQ monthly print issue. https://lnkd.in/eACAbSCW

Looking forward to the TET Inspire Future Generations Awards Celebration tonight. We are shortlisted in the Health & Place Category for our TIPS project (Trauma Informed Places & Spaces) alongside our collaborators, Articulate Cultural Trust. Good luck to everyone!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the INCH team!   We would like to thank our clients and collaborators for a wonderful year full of projects and successes.   The image above is from our team visit to the recently completed Parklea Community Hub. It was extremely rewarding to see a project we had worked so hard on come to fruition and have the opportunity to speak to the building users.   The INCH office will close on Friday 20th and reopen in the New Year on January 3rd 2025, we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!

We are pleased to share photos of the recently completed and fully open to the public Parklea Community Hub! Parklea Branching Out, is a voluntary organisation and registered Scottish Charity in Port Glasgow, who use horticulture as a vehicle to provide a variety of different training opportunities, work experience, supported employment, recreational and social facilities for clients including adults and children with learning and or physical disabilities, those with mental health problems, school leavers, young and long term unemployed, elderly groups and community groups. Parklea’s new hub provides a public space supporting their objectives, overlooking the Clyde Estuary and the adjacent historic timber drying ponds. It hosts a café, a community meeting space and other volunteer and training facilities. The building comprises a column and canopy (dendriform) grid which creates a sculptural soffit internally and covered space externally. Glazed curtain walling and brickwork enclose the structure acknowledging the garden pavilions on site. Critically, the challenge was the site being within a flood risk area, and the building floor level needed to be raised above peak tidal level, based on a predicted 1 in 200-year flood event plus climate change. Alongside this, flood resilient construction measures have been employed to mitigate excessive damage or waste in the event of flooding. The building directly confronts the challenges of the site exacerbated by climate change rather than ignoring them, allowing the creation of a new community hub that is deeply rooted to its site whilst embracing the human relationship with blue space. Client -Parklea Branching Out Regeneration Consultant - Community Links Scotland Architect - INCH Architecture + Design QS - Armour Construction Consultants Structural Engineer - Design Engineering Workshop Services Engineer - Lùths Services Principal Designer - ABT SAFETY LTD Main Contractor – Eycon Ltd Photographs – Keith Hunter

INCH are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted along with @articulate for Thorton Education Trust's Inspire Future Generations 2024 Award in the Health and Place category for our collaborative project Trauma Informed Places and Spaces (TIPS). Together we have been working since 2020 to understand what a trauma informed place and space should look and feel like for care experienced young people. We are looking forward to share more about our research and this important work in the new year. Congratulations to all other shortlisted projects.  #ifgawards #ifgawards2024