Donamus Aquam
Children Built This City
Migrating To Knowledge
The Sail Space
The Infinite Chase
The Elements
Collegelands SuDS Project
Project Name: Donamus Aquam
Completion Date: April 2023
Location: Provan, North East Glasgow
Type: Cultural/Performance Venue
This project aimed to rejuvenate Glasgow's Molendinar River and revive the post-industrial North of the city. Initially by creating a water-based entertainment masterplan along the river's path, I then focused on the aquarium to revitalise the North-Eastern tip and help areas like Royston and Germiston recover from their post-industrial decline.
The project proposes repurposing theProvan Gasometers, iconic but deteriorating B-listed steel structures, as a major tourist destination, performance venue, and educational facility. This would symbolise the revival of Glasgow's historically industrious areas and provide a much-needed boost to the local economy.
To promote integration within the masterplan, I envisioned individuals who train in the swimming pool also making use of the aquarium’s potential. Therefore, the aquarium was designed to accommodate performances/competitions of both mermaiding and freediving, two increasingly popular sports that lack dedicated spaces in Scotland. This additional purpose would enhance the overall appeal of the project, while also catering to the growing interest in these unique water activities.
Masterplan of River Route
Aquarium Front Elevation
Section A through mermaid performance space
Section B through “Deep Sea” tank
Interior of mermaid performance space
Interior of Lochs and Rivers
Wow, my corn is looking great! I wonder if Lucy and the kids would like some..?
Steve! Hi! Heading over to the library class?
I love that my school has a climbing frame, and it’s near my house so my friends can come over to play there too!
Thanks for inviting me to the game, David. Are we getting the bus there?
Woohoo! I am going to win, Poppy!!
Thank you so much for �xing my bike - I don’t know how I would get to work without it!
Hello Coco! Unfortunately dogs can’t have coffee…
I hope you both have a lovely walk!
Co-living interactions that the design supports
Project Name: Migrating to Knowledge
Completion Date: April 2022
Location: St Andrews, Fife
Type: Academic Library
After identifying Fife as a key migrational hotspot for birds across the world, I concluded that my Second Year Library Project should be dedicated to ornithology. That concept led to a design with a “trunk” of void space through the centre, and “branches” of bookshelves that revealed cozy study carrels for students to nestle into.
On the facade, motorised slats of wood act as a shading device. Furthermore, as they gently clatter in the wind, their windchime effect is reminicent of birdsong.
South East Elevation
Project Name: The Sail Space
Completion Date: December 2021
Location: St Andrews, Fife
Type: Sports Facility
The Sail Space is an extension to St Andrews Sailing Club. One of the key issues that the Club faces is it’s lack of visibility, and I hoped that my large hyperbolicparaboloid sails on the roof would help to address this. Furthermore, the extension allows for a series of classrooms and a display space to be added to the Sailing Club, to entice in a new generation of sailors.
The complex form of the roof is actually made of straight beams, so could be constructed by members themselves, in a similar way to how members constructed their previous extension. I believe this could help make the members feel the club is truly their own.
Project Name: The Infinite Chase
Completion Date: December 2022
Location: Glasgow
Type: Cultural Artwork
For Year Three Semester One Cultural Studies, I worked with fellow Strathclyde student Helena Hebecker to create a video submission, “The Infinite Chase”, that explores the design of the deck access in the context of a selection of Glasgow housing developments, from the point of view of a “chaser” stalking a resident. In particular, we investigated the idea of the infinitely long deck, as such a construction is allowed and specifically mentioned in the Building Standards Technical Handbook:
Standard 2.9.23 - "Where only one direction of escape is available, the travel distance along an open access balcony should be not more than 40m. However, where the balcony provides 2 directions of escape, the travel distance can be unlimited."
The buildings portrayed in the film were chosen to show a wide variety of different deck access designs within Glasgow. The atmosphere across locations becomes increasingly dark as the film progresses to emphasise the duration of the chase and the increasing desperation of the resident. This feeling of terror is also supported by the choice in background music. Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude begins as a light drizzle on a sunny day that develops into a dark, heavy rainstorm with thundering notes.
To summarise, deck access can offer a cheap, practical solution to the housing crisis, but if not designed with care, the ownerless access balcony can fall into disrepair due to a lack of understanding of who is responsible for these spaces.
Finally, our film highlights that Building Standards cannot always be taken literally - architecture requires an eye for design and plenty of common sense!
www.chloepimblett.design
Project Name: The Elements
Completion Date: March 2023
Location: Lombardy, Italy
Type: Pavilions
The Elements are a series of three Wildlife Pavilions, which I designed for the Terra Viva Wildlife Pavilion Competition.
Earth, Water and Air each create a unique way to view the wildlife at “Torbiere del Sebino” Nature Reserve, but are centred around the needs of the residents rather than the visitors.
Earth is a thatched, rammed earth structure that holds multiple screens, to allow visitors to watch the wildlife via live camera streams or recordings, without disturbing animals in the process.
Water sits upon the lake, floating to match the varied water-level of the reserve throughout the seasons. Nest boxes and a green roof encourages wildlife to use the space, while a glass floor lets guests see what is swimming below them too.
Air is delicately suspended on stilts, and gives a modest view out to a series of perches. With a form inspired by a bird in flight, its minimal materiality ensures that all attention is drawn to the true feature: the wildlife.
Water Pavilion
Earth Pavilion
Air Pavilion
Earth Pavilion Interior
Project Name: Collegelands SuDS Project
Completion Date: Ongoing
Location: Collegelands, Glasgow
Type: Landscaping/Biodiversity
This project certainly isn’t architectural, but reveals my interests in a way that the other pieces in this portfolio do not.
In 2021, I moved into one of the purpose built student blocks on the Collegelands site, and was disappointed to see that the drainage canal out my window was little more than a tyre and cone filled ditch. When I couldn’t find those responsible to clear the litter, I decided to take action myself.
I gathered a group of students who helped me initially remove 6 bags of waste, as well as a selection of larger items. Since then, our passion for the SuDS canal has grown, as has my understanding of what one should be. We sourced an initial £1000 of funding, and purchased a selection of native plants to increase the biodiversity. We plan to continue the maintenance of the canal, and increase resident awareness on it’s potential.
I think that the best evidence for our success is the new inhabitants - we are lucky enough to now share Collegelands with frogs, ducks, foxes and buzzards. The new flora means that there is at least one type of flower blooming from March through to September, and we hope that the new grasses will encourage the ducks to raise a family with us soon!
Ragged Robin beginning to flower
Frogs found inside a tyre
Frogs and spawn Litter from first Picking Event A duck approaches the SuDS