'Light touch' surgery to give Dundee jute mill back its teeth
February 15 2022
Works to refurbish and extend a historic B-listed Jute mill in Dundee city centre are to enter a second phase with proposals to restore the Victoria Street/Dens Road 'sawtooth' profile to its original appearance.
Again led by James Paul Associates the latest improvements to Eagle Mill will marry preservation of surviving fabric, with 'robust' interventions to facilitate its new residential nature on secondary elevations such as Lyon Street.
'Light touch' changes see windows restored to their original proportions, with additional steelwork supporting the retained wall, behind which an 'industrial' walled garden will be located for the benefit of residents. Framing the opposite corner of this urban park will be an L-plan new build block in light buff brick on the former factory floor, extending the sawtooth roof design while wrapping around retained walls and industrial openings.
A freestanding steel feature stair and industrial style gantries accommodate circulation through exposed areas of the retained structure, enabling it to be read as a standalone element.
Explaining their contextual approach the architect wrote: "New architectural forms are stepped back from the existing structure or ‘soft joints’ are employed with the original fabric, in order to retain historical reading within the fabric. Where the new function dictates modern requirements be implemented on the existing, such as new glazed areas for daylighting or level access walkways, care has been taken to limit the frequency of the former and to ensure that these occur within existing window reveals or in areas architecturally appropriate for their inclusion, building on the existing rhythm of fenestration."
A sizeable basement will be put to use as a vertical farm developed in partnership with the Hutton Institute, complete with supporting control rooms and laboratories.
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7 Comments
Similar vibe on show with the latest plans for the Briggait in Glesga now dealing with the reality of the building they have rather than tearing down lumps of it and building a monstrosity that reeks of designer ego.
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