Architecture Practice, BAILTEAN AILTEIREACHD ’S RÙM DÀNACH:
TOWNSHIPS, ARCHITECTURE & The ROOM of POETICS

Leverhulme Community Hub

Context

BARD were appointed by the Leverhulme Community Hub to reconfigure the former Old School at Leverburgh into a community hub. The aspirations of the project were to provide new office and learning spaces, including a Comunn Eachdraidh, charity shop, laundrette, new café, and public gym operating out of the former school buildings in Leverburgh, Isle of Harris. The intention was to create an aesthetically pleasing adaptation that would bring new opportunities to a historic building.

Architecture
Ruairidh Moir - Architect
Ciaran Gallagher - Architectural Assistant
Charles Tulley - Architectural Assistant
Andrew Lang - Architectural Assistant

Location
Leverburgh, Isle of Harris

Client
Leverhulme Community Hub

Project
Leverhulme Community Hub

Allocation
2020/21

The existing building consists of the original school building located on the A859 in Leverburgh, which had recently been acquired by the community group and a change of use to a community hub had already been approved.

These original buildings previously lay unoccupied. The proposal sought to update the original building while maintaining its original character. It transformed the space to serve new functions, preserving the structure for future generations from its former use as a school to a more versatile community space.

Following a detailed study of the site’s history, a strategy was developed to introduce new windows to the front and back façades, allowing more light to enter and maximise the views onto the bay from within.

We proposed adding a small visor-like canopy to cover the front entrance and steps. This canopy, designed with sensitivity to the original building, would have sat comfortably within the existing structure’s context and scale. The materiality of the canopy would have been formed from a timber frame and covered with corrugated metal sheeting.

Inside, we proposed making minor adjustments to create new office spaces for both the public and community group, along with a reception area at the front entrance. The proposal included a new kitchen space serving the café area for the public, as well as a gym at the rear of the building.

This proposal would have improved the current condition without negatively impacting the surrounding environment. It aimed to enhance the building’s qualities while ensuring it could serve as a modern community facility, sitting respectfully within its context.

Historical Photo of LCH

Axonometric Drawings - Forming the Canopy

COMANN EACHDRAIDH SGÌRE A' BHAC
The site of the former school in the district of Back, Isle of Lewis, has been a vacant wound in the area ever since the school buildings were removed.  It is a site of emotional connection and historical association, with many having either being educated there or being related to those who were.

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COMUNN EACHDRAIDH NIS
Reinvigorating a civic Building by transforming the 1878 former Cross School buildings on the Isle of Lewis into a modern museum facility.

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GALLAN HEAD MASTERPLAN
During the cold war the MOD took the headland into their possession to establish a major surveillance including accommodation for around 200 people. This headland and the buildings associated, remained in military control until 2010. The Gallan head community trust has since taken possession of this headland buildings.

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IONAD EILEAN NA H-ÒIGE
The location that inspired Whisky Galore and the site of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s first Scottish landfall, the Isle of Eriskay has an incredibly rich and eclectic history. Affectionately known as ‘Eilean h- Òige’ (the isle of youth), Eriskay was only first populated after the Highland Clearances and has a relatively short history of inhabitants, but a history that could rival any of its neighbours.

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A VESSEL OF CHRONICLES AND VOYAGES
We propose a building as a campus, placed on the shore line and creating a kind of landscape that evokes the qualities of this place.  Large blocks are anchored against sheltering walls, like ships come into harbour. We propose a dynamic and exploratory building, blending historical narrative with a forward-thinking approach. The vessel navigates through time, filled with chronicles and opportunities for new voyages.    

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Leverhulme Community Hub
The proposal sought to update the original building while maintaining its original character. It transformed the space to serve new functions, preserving the structure for future generations from its former use as a school to a more versatile community space.

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BERNERAY MANSE
Building on our work at nearby Trumaisgearraidh, we have been commissioned to assist with renovation plans to bring the building back into habitable use as well as adapting the house sympathetically to reflect the needs of modern domestic life. 

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QUEENS CROSS CHURCH
Queens Cross Church is a Grade A listed building, designed by the renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. It no longer serves its function of a church, however continues to be used as a base for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.

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CRUACHAN BEAG
Reinhabiting a ruin. On the Isle of Eriskay, a two-celled stone bothy lain in a ruinous state situated on a spectacular promontory, was a favourite for onlookers to photograph. This structure was formerly a home, and may later have become a dairy shed. What was clear, however, was that numerous adaptations had been made over time to the building.

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CARLOWAY MILL - Proposals for a Harris Tweed Textile Mill in the Outer Hebrides. The Carloway Mill produces its own yarns and patterns before the beams are sent out to crofters to weave on traditional looms. Following this, the woven textile returns to the mill for meticulous checking, washing, steaming and warping.

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EDINBURGH TOWNHOUSE
Our design proposes modifications to the kitchen and dining areas of the property to the rear garden, examining the property holistically in relation to the building character and function.

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ARTISTS STUDIO
PLACING LIGHT ATOP THE HILL
Across the Outer Hebrides, patterns of former habitations punctuate the landscape. In the case of Lemreway, a remarkable collection of blackhouses sit elevated above the new village, quite forgotten despite their prominent position overlooking the village.

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LOBSTER HOUSE. Positioning a new home on a narrow ledge between bedrock and a blackhouse ruin. What to do on a challenging site to amplify the found qualities of the place.

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CROWNING THE CITY - “Rock, Water, Wood and Space” symbolises the natural environment of Finland. The nodes in the landscape is imbued with history and traces of past existences which can be read and understood when presented. Much like a fine Malt Whisky, the landscape provides ingredients for multiple interpretations and close associations between people and their environment.

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WINDYHILL. Building on Mackintosh - Windyhill was the first prototype house from world renowned Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and is his last remaining project still used for its own original purpose.

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HOUSE FOR AN ARCHAEOLOGIST - Building in and of the land. We have also taken cues from extensive analysis of key archaeological sites in the locality, such as Skara Brae and Maeshowe in relation to composition of geometry as well as key drivers and components in relation to the arrangement of domestic life.

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