Comprising 136 new homes across four new buildings, The Victoria marks the initial milestone in a wider redevelopment plan to deliver more than 400 homes across the 3.75-hectare site.

The wider masterplan also includes the repurposing of the original Nightingale buildings into flats, as well as new retail units, and an enhanced public realm.

Located next to Queen’s Park in Langside, on the south side of Glasgow, Collective Architecture said phase one’s completion defines a new civic frontage stretching from the corner at Battlefield Road along Grange Road, providing high-quality new-build flats available for social rent and shared equity buyers.

Appointed by Sanctuary Scotland, the practice’s brief required a balance of residential density and public space through the integration of new-build housing alongside the retained sandstone Nightingale pavilions, formerly used as hospital wards.

Inspiration for the project came from the 1883 hospital masterplan by Campbell, Douglas and Sellars, more than 140 years ago. The architectural approach was informed by the original layout of the pavilion wards and the spaces between them, with a strong emphasis on creating accessible public areas and open space throughout the site.

The adopted methodology respects the site’s historic and natural environment by responding to -and enhancing -its existing qualities and character. This involved carefully unpicking decades of unsympathetic alterations and additions, reinstating original edges, vistas, and balconies to reveal a more welcoming and engaging urban block -introducing contemporary living while preserving the site’s historic character.

This first phase features four new buildings thoughtfully positioned within the site to establish a subtle distinction between public and residential areas. The selected material palette closely reflects that of the original Nightingale buildings and surrounding tenements, primarily featuring tonally varied brick.

The buildings’ massing is broken down with large-format metal panels that complement the brickwork and accentuate key corners, while balconies and terraces animate the street layered with colonnades and lanterns that reference the historic structures on site.

The second phase of the scheme, which includes the repurposing of the Nightingale buildings, is currently in progress. Upon completion, it will complete the new public route into Queen’s Park, making way for the third and final phase adjacent to the Langside Battlefield Memorial, including the Category ‘B’ listed administration building.

Peter Smith, project architect at Collective Architecture, said: “Redeveloping the former Victoria Infirmary Hospital has been both an immense privilege and monumental challenge, introducing new housing and public space within the tightly constrained, historically significant, and culturally valued site. 

“The success of the first phase, both as a piece of city and as a place to live, is a testament to the many people involved. As new residents begin to settle in, I look forward to seeing the project come to life.”

Nigel Wilcox, chair of Sanctuary Scotland, added: “These homes at Phase One of The Victoria breathe new life into this historic site. We speak to our new residents daily, and so many of them are delighted with their new surroundings and the progress that’s being made in the creation of this vibrant and diverse new community.

“Of course, these homes and this completed phase is part of a bigger picture for the site and marks the real progress that’s already been made in reimagining this iconic part of Glasgow.”

Photography © Keith Hunter