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374:. The towers' basic design concept was based on brutal purity to the design, featuring a square plan shape and continuous balconies surrounding each of the towers' four sides. Whilst looking upwards at the buildings, the simple form of the square identical rings stacked one upon the other soaring upwards was described as "a powerful and photogenic form". Both buildings use of harsh unrelenting use of concrete, rigid geometry and uncompromising repetitive forms of construction were said to "demonstrate that the buildings are pure examples of brutalism".
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in the 1960s and early 1970s on a grand scale, which led to
Glasgow becoming the first truly high-rise city in Britain. However, many of these "schemes", as they are known, were poorly planned, or badly designed and cheaply constructed, which led to many of the blocks becoming insanitary magnets for
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In total, both towers contained 31 floors, whilst only 29 were occupied. Both towers combined contained 348 flats, and at their time of opening in 1968, were considered a "modern development among other projects done to purge the blight of the city's slum tenement communities".
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Standing at 85 metres (279 ft) in height, the
Bluevale and Whitevale Towers were Scotland's second tallest residential buildings at the time of the demolition, and were the second tallest public housing towers to have been constructed in the United Kingdom, behind only the
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railway which runs immediately next to the site, a conventional "blowdown" with explosives was deemed impractical. The buildings instead would be disassembled floor by floor using the "top down" method.
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for building services and a drying area) the towers were not the buildings with the highest occupied floor level in the city (or
Scotland); that distinction belonged to the contemporary
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The deconstruction process began in
January 2015, starting with the Bluevale tower. The neighbouring Whitevale tower was deconstructed in a similar fashion in 2016.
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The design of the
Bluevale and Whitevale Towers was based on brutalist architecture, a type of architecture which became popular particularly following
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of the intention to demolish the development, citing the unpopularity of the estate among residents and high maintenance and running costs.
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estate on the north side of the city. They were briefly
Scotland's second tallest freestanding structure following the demolition of
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The buildings were unique in their construction – featuring hydraulic jacks in their foundations to combat sway due to their height.
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Faced with crippling housing shortages in the immediate post-war period, the city undertook the building of multi-storey housing in
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It would not be until 1988 that high rises were built in the city once again, with the construction of the 17-storey
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After originally being condemned in 2011, in early 2016 the demolition of both towers was completed.
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At one time the tallest buildings in
Scotland, with only 29 occupiable floors (the 30th floor was a
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followed in 1992. From the early 1990s, Glasgow City
Council and its successor, the
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Demolition of the towers was originally scheduled to take place prior to the
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The towers were prominent in the
Glasgow city skyline, as seen here from
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Owing to the buildings' design, and their close proximity to the busy
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The
Bluevale tower during its deconstruction using the top-down method
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646:"Gallowgate Twins flats brought down using new UK demolition method"
573:"Remembering The Gallowgate Twins and the mark they made on Glasgow"
522:"Remembering The Gallowgate Twins and the mark they made on Glasgow"
268:, the two towers were for a time the tallest buildings in Scotland.
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List of tallest buildings and structures in Glasgow
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436:List of tallest voluntarily demolished buildings
743:Demolished buildings and structures in Scotland
496:"Glasgow's tallest towers to be knocked down"
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753:Buildings and structures demolished in 2016
30:109 Bluevale Street and 51 Whitevale Street
456:"Britains Tallest 100 Buildings by Height"
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210:David Harvey Alex Scott & Associates
748:Residential buildings completed in 1968
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628:Demolition and Recycling International
394:In November 2011, it was announced by
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738:Residential skyscrapers in Scotland
598:"City to Knock Down Tallest Towers"
778:Brutalist architecture in Scotland
768:2016 disestablishments in Scotland
622:Gale, Lindsay (25 February 2015).
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624:"First 'Gallowgate Twin' shrinks"
571:Williams, Craig (21 March 2021).
520:Williams, Craig (21 March 2021).
234:district within the East End of
166:30 (29 habitable + 2 mechanical)
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18:Residential in Glasgow, Scotland
763:1968 establishments in Scotland
547:"Bluevale and Whitevale Towers"
481:"Diagrams - SkyscraperPage.com"
350:on the Firth of Clyde in 2013.
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52:Bluevale and Whitevale Towers
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218:Bluevale and Whitevale Towers
24:Bluevale and Whitevale Towers
396:Glasgow Housing Association
317:Glasgow Housing Association
285:Duke Street railway station
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257:, and often nicknamed the
679:, study of Gallowgate at
158:90.8 metres (298 ft)
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403:2014 Commonwealth Games
296:crime and deprivation.
202:Design and construction
733:Skyscrapers in Glasgow
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348:Inverkip Power Station
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630:. KHL. Archived from
602:Glasgow Evening Times
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266:Camlachie Twin Towers
56:Camlachie Twin Towers
704:55.85595°N 4.21506°W
681:Disappearing Glasgow
551:Architecture Glasgow
426:Glasgow tower blocks
220:were twin 31–storey
126:Construction started
700: /
255:51 Whitevale Street
251:109 Bluevale Street
97:51 Whitevale Street
95:109 Bluevale Street
82:Architectural style
61:General information
728:Former skyscrapers
709:55.85595; -4.21506
654:. 16 December 2015
460:skyscrapernews.com
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634:on 12 March 2015.
249:Officially named
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180:Pre-cast Concrete
176:Structural system
171:Technical details
54:Gallowgate Twins
49:Alternative names
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677:'Lights Out'
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632:the original
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321:Basil Spence
309:Hilton Hotel
303:next to the
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207:Architect(s)
102:Town or city
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773:Twin towers
707: /
658:17 February
607:29 November
505:13 December
500:Urban Realm
301:Forum Hotel
225:tower block
186:Floor count
77:Residential
722:Categories
692:55°51′21″N
442:References
382:Demolition
260:Gallowgate
142:Demolished
69:Demolished
695:4°12′54″W
334:Accolades
313:Anderston
232:Camlachie
222:brutalist
163:Top floor
134:Completed
106:Camlachie
86:Brutalist
758:Parkhead
420:See also
344:Red Road
120:Scotland
325:Gorbals
275:History
264:or the
236:Glasgow
116:Country
110:Glasgow
92:Address
582:1 June
556:1 June
531:1 June
465:8 June
366:Design
360:London
244:London
150:Height
66:Status
262:Twins
228:flats
660:2019
609:2011
584:2024
558:2024
533:2024
507:2011
467:2008
305:SECC
253:and
216:The
155:Roof
145:2016
137:1968
129:1967
74:Type
358:in
323:'s
311:in
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