BRUTALISM/ SOCIETY/ EVOLVING/ TECHNOLOGY/ DIVISION / (dis)UTOPIA

Cumbernauld is a unique place, showcasing the power of ideology in architecture. The picture- perfect 60s New Town, bold, iconic and brutal proves difficult to adjust to present expectations and
aesthetic. The lack of adaptability in urban fabric caused the town’s population decline – the target of 70,000 inhabitants was never reached, Cumbernauld houses 52,000 people.

Re-thinking and refreshing Cumbernauld is necessary to attract newcomers and increase density. New architectural interventions should reflect the town’s heritage and character, answering to a powerful existing context. As the Metabolists believed, architecture is a powerful trigger for social change, but the city is not static, it needs to evolve – like a biological cell – to survive.

 

Technological development and availability strongly influenced Cumbernauld’s design. It is only now that we can evaluate its true impact. In ’64, Fumihiko Maki wrote: “We frequently confuse the potential that technology offers with a kind of compulsion to ‘use it fully’. Inhuman use of technological advances is all too frequently our course”. A new relationship between technology, Cumbernauld and its people needs to be established.

 

The area designated for development – Cumbernauld Community Park – is currently cut off from town by the M80. It remains, however, within walking distance from the newer, wealthier neighbourhoods (Carrickstone, Dullatur, Balloch, Eastfield). Cumbernauld Community Park is the heart of social and physical separation of the area. In order to reinstate social equality and utopian values, the park needs to become easily accessible from Cumbernauld.