“We’re not leaving” – Kinning Park Complex from occupation to restoration

The newly reopened KPC is a multi-use community space focusing on a wide variety of activities taking place over four key strands: community, citizenship, creativity and wellbeing; strands of the building’s DNA since the early 1900s. It offers an eclectic programme of activities that welcome members, volunteers, staff, local residents and regular visitors who make up the rich mix of end-users. 

For New Practice, KPC has been an exercise in slow architecture. Working with the community, they sought to create a resilient organisation, not simply a beautiful building. A central tenet of the design was to make the most of the building’s heritage and existing structure. Functional, flexible and accessible community and creative workspaces take place across all three storeys. Adaptive re-use bolstered the valuable community resources, which range from a commercial kitchen to a Socialist Sunday School.

The leadership team and community purchased the building with the support of a new piece of legislation: The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

New Practice’s designs open up the original double helix stairs to aid with visibility, safety, security and access to the building. This new staircase creates opportunities for enhanced understanding of the space, allowing natural light to filter from the existing rooflight. Each of the three floors, visible from the opened atrium, use a different, bold colour to help with wayfinding: salmon pink, a yolky yellow, and a green bordering blue. With the same down-to-earth practicality found elsewhere, the paint colours are standard Dulux shades that won’t go out of stock.

KPC is a product of pragmatic decisions: every piece of furniture is repurposed or renewed, fittings can be replaced at B&Q, and even the bin-bag budget dictated the design; everything is designed to be ‘maintained on a shoestring with a single caretaker or janitor’. New Practice eked out and added to the buildings original character and grandeur with a restrained precision. In many places, they chose to not touch a thing. The outcome of this approach is one of authenticity, and a legible history. 

Talking about this ethos, Becca Thomas, Creative Director at New Practice shared that “our architectural approach responds to [KPC’s] variety, centring accessibility and heritage to ensure longevity. In handing over the keys we have taken the next step, I am thrilled to be onsite and to continue our efforts to redevelop in a way that recognises all this building’s stories, and through reuse retains the very atmosphere that has made it home to many.”

“Over the last 25 years, many people have worked hard to keep the building operating, making sure it was just good enough for use,” shared Racheal Smith, Kinning Park Complex’s Lead of Operations, who began working there as a volunteer.  “Kinning Park Complex has always been a great resource, even when it was cold, wet and broken. Now, with the redevelopment complete, our communities can be part of building a future that is here for generations to come.”

KPC is a product of pragmatic decisions: every piece of furniture is repurposed or renewed, fittings can be replaced at B&Q, and even the bin-bag budget dictated the design

KPC is a valuable and necessary example of how to add character without expensive architectural tricks. New Practice took a degraded historic building and meagre budget, and created an intricate series of inclusive, loose, yet beautiful spaces that are fit for purpose and brimming with character.

Combining that with helping secure the funding, procure the project and create a resilient business model for their clients elevates it to a rare place: a unique and exciting prototype for how architects and designers may work with communities in creating truly collaborative civic architecture.