Imagine if . . .

Imagine a City

Imagine If... there was an urban space that all people have the right to access at all time.

This re-imagination of St Enoch Car Park by Alesia Berahavaya aims to explore themes of permeability, public involvement, community prosperity and adaptability to change, to provide a true public space reactive to current societal needs.

The chosen site is located centrally in the area of a ripped away railway infrastructure, St Enoch Station, Glasgow. This proposal seeks to reconnect pre-established pedestrian nodes with historic origins of Glasgow and its riverfront, introducing two levels of open circulation that will permeate the site from multiple directions. These paths will provide a larger footprint for public participation, in an attempt to re-connect fragmented urban areas of Glasgow. The shopping mall is suggested to be reconfigured into a public market, and a newly designed city quarter is to be established as a series of courtyards on the adjacent car park.

Self-built construction methods encourage every citizen to participate in the creation of market or residential units. This permits the adjacent architecture to be more democratic in nature and the ownership of the area more uncertain, so that individuals feel comfortable in crossing these undefined thresholds. The resulting infrastructure enables urban spaces to be formed, architecture to be expanded and pedestrian flows to be directed.

Re-imagined by Alesia Berahavaya during her Part 2 Architecture degree at Glasgow School of Art: Mackintosh School of Architecture in 2021. To see more of Alesia’s work click here or check out her instagram here.

We love Alesia’s re-imagining as it gives the power to local people of how the space evolves over time and can be adapted to suit changing societal needs.

Do you know a space like this that needs some re-imagining? If yes, check out our how to guide here.