The Reid Road: Hoosin schame

Biggit in the mid-late 1960s, the Reid Road wis biggit wi steel and asbestos. Sax touers wis happit wi sheet-airn in the late 70s an early 80s. The flats wis amang the heichest biggins in Glesga, wi the sax tradietional touer-shapit anes bein 91 metre heich. The schame wis caaed for Reid Road (English: Red Road), a street on the wastren boonds o the schame. The touerblocks wis caaed doun wi explosives atween 2012 and 2015, houaniver the caain doun o 123 Petershill Drive and 10 Reid Road Court gaed agley, sae thay haed tae be caaed doun wi machine.

The Reid Road
The aicht Reid Road Touerblocks in Mairch 2009. Thay wis aa caaed doun by 2015.
General information
Status	Caaed doun (Atween Juin 2012–October 2015)
Kynd	Residential
Airchitectural style	Brutalist / Modernist
Location	Balornock, Glesga, Scotland
Address	Touer 1: 10 Reid Road Court Touer 2: 33 Petershill Drive Touer 3: 63 Petershill Drive Touer 4: 93 Petershill Drive Touer 5: 123 Petershill Drive Touer 6: 10–30 Petershill Court Touer 7: 153–213 Petershill Drive Touer 8: 21 Birnie Court
Coordinates	55°52′48.54″N 4°12′29.57″W / 55.8801500°N 4.2082139°W / 55.8801500; -4.2082139 (Red Road Flats) 4°12′29.57″W / 55.8801500°N 4.2082139°W / 55.8801500; -4.2082139 (Red Road Flats)
Biggin stairtit	1964
Completit	1968
Openin	1971
Cost	£6 million (estimated)
Awner	Glasgow Housing Association
Hicht
Ruif	Pynt Blocks=91.5 metre (300 ft) Slab Blocks=79.0 metre (259 ft)
Tap fluir	31
Technical details
Structural seestem	Steel frame
Fluir coont	Pynt Blocks = 31 Slab Blocks = 28
Lifts/elevators	Pynt Blocks = 2 Slab Blocks = 6
Design an construction
Airchitect	Sam Bunton & Associates
Developer	Glasgow Corporation
Structural ingineer	W A Fairhurst & Partners

The Reid Road wis designed by Sam Bunton. Oot on the aicht touers, twa o thaim wis wide muckle slab blocks. Ilka slab block haed 3 sections. The lave o thaim wis 30-fluir tradietional touer-shapit blocks. The flats wis the heichest residential biggins in Europe in the time, tho heicher anes wad be biggit no lang efterhaund.

The flats wis proponed in 1961. The flats wis orieginally gaun tae be biggit wi reinforced concrete structurs wi 1,470 hooses. Houaniver, this wis chynged tae steel the follaein year.

The first touer, 10 Reid Road Court, wis opent in the 28 October 1966 by than Scots Secretrar Willie Ross. Aa the touers haed opent by 1971.

Forby, Birnie Court haed aicht wee walk-up blocks, and ilka ane o thaim haed three fluirs. Thay haed the ae hoose on ony gien fluir, and thare wis fower bedrooms tae ilka flat.

 

The Reid Road wad come tae be aff the thrive as time gaed on. Crime wad come tae be a iessue, and the schame cam tae be a notour place that wis seen as a mistak o Glesga's post-war hoose-biggin policy.

In 1977, a flat in the 23rd fluir o 10 Reid Road Court wis setten alowe. A boy dee'd ower the heid o't. A wheen o faimilies refused tae gang back tae thair hooses efter the fire. 10 Reid Road Court and 33 Petershill Drive wis syne declared tae be unfittit for faimilies tae be bidin in thaim. The twa blocks wad syne be airtit at ither fowk, wi 10 Reid Road Court bein for students, and 33 Petershill Drive bein gien tae the YMCA.

The supermercat wis caaed doun efter bein setten alowe in the mid-90s.

The unnergrund Bingo Haa and The Brig Baur wis shutten in 1998.

63, 93 & 123 Petershill Drive wis happit wi blue sheet-airn in 1979, wi the ither pynt blocks bein happit in the early 80s.

Stairs for winnin awa frae fire wis eikit ontil the front o 153-213 Petershill Drive and 10-30 Petershill Court in the late 80s. Thir stairs alloued fowk in the front closes tae gang oot the biggin gin thare wis a fire.

Re-laundshapin wark wis duin in the 90s, and concierge stations wis fittit in the flats and aa. Forby, the slab blocks wis pentit yellae. The haundrails that gaed roond the ruifs o the flats wis duin awa wi atween 1996-1998. Phone masts wis fittit on the ruif o 123 Petershill Drive in the early 2000s.

 

In 2005 the GHA annunced that 153-213 Petershill Drive wad be caaed doun. Thay syne sayed in 2008 that aa the blocks wis tae be caaed doun.

The wee walk-up flats on Birnie Court wis caaed doun in the 2000s.

153-213 Petershill Drive wis the first touer tae be caaed doun, on the 10 Juin 2012. 21 Birnie Court wis caaed doun on the 5 Mey 2013.

In Apryle 2014 it wis annunced that that the 5 touers that wis strippit bare wis gaun'ae be caaed doun as pairt o the innin tae the 2014 Commonweal Gemms. A wheen o fowk didna like the thochtie o thaim bein blawn up for fun, and a online petietion wis setten up tae gar the cooncil, GHA an the gemm organisers think again. This public ootcry wan, and the propone for caain doun the flats for the innin tae the gemms wis duin awa wi.

The GHA annunced in August 2015 that the sax blocks that wis aye staundin wad be caaed doun thegither wi explosives later thon year. Aa the ither touers wis caaed doun on the 11 October 2015, houaniver, 123 Petershill Drive and 10 Reid Road Court didna halely gae doun. The twa o thaim wis caaed doun wi machine in October and November 2015.

Thare's tae be atween 211 and 240 hooses biggit in the Reid Road in a twa-three phases. Thir hooses will be laich-rise anes. The hooses will be a mixtur o front-and-back gairden hooses and 4-fluir flats.

The Reid Road wis aften uised as a backdrap and filmin location for a wheen o media.

The film "Red Road" is setten in the flats, and wis setten furth in 2006.

French Heich-weir artist Didier Pasquette traivelt on a heich-weir atween 123 and 93 Petershill Drive in 2007, tho coudna win til 93 Petershill Drive wi the wind.

Alison Irvine wrat a beuk cryed "This Road is Red", and it wis setten furth in 2012. The beuk is setten in the Reid Road frae whan it wis bein biggit til the 2010s. The drawins in the beuk wis drawn by Mitch Miller, a body that haes makkit a curn drawins caaed Dialectograms. Dialectograms is muckle documentary-style warks that shaws ilkaday life in the Reid Road.