Cumbernauld: one man's Kabul of the north is another man's triumph of design

Published on Saturday 24 January 2009 18:46

IT HAS been labelled the "Kabul of the north", is derided by royalty and has won the title of Scotland's ugliest community so many times it has been disqualified from the competition.

But redemption may finally be at hand for Cumbernauld: a team from one of the world's most famous architectural schools has paid homage to the design wonders of the much-derided new town.

Staff and students from the influential Bauhaus College, based in Berlin, have visited the town centre and hailed it as one of Europe's most significant experiments in urban planning.

The visit is a much-needed boost for the controversial concrete conglomeration which topped a Channel 4 poll for the structure that people would like to see razed.

The North Lanarkshire town's 1960s shopping centre, a once-futuristic fusion of glass and ramps on stilts, won awards on its completion, but soon fell into decline and disrepair.

Now the Cumbernauld "megastructure", which was designed to encompass a utopian mixture of shops, homes and leisure facilities, is a hulking mausoleum of largely empty, echoing spaces.

But this did not prevent the Bauhaus experts from choosing the town, above all others in Europe, for a study into modernist architecture.

Cumbernauld was selected for the Bauhaus 'Cities of Tomorrow' research project alongside the more glamorous Queenstown housing scheme in Singapore.

Wilfried Hackenbroich, who led the German delegation, insisted the much-mocked Scottish community was of international significance.

"Cumbernauld is probably the best example of a new town in Europe," he said. "It is the original in many ways and remains a very important and interesting place in terms of urban development."

Hackenbroich and his colleagues were given a bus tour of the community last week and found much to like. He said: "We were impressed by much of what we saw in Cumbernauld, particularly the residential areas, as well as the town centre.

"Of course, some areas could benefit from renovation, but the quality and design of the housing are really good, as are the green spaces around them."

The academic was aware of the town centre's carbuncle reputation in Scotland, but felt strongly that wrecking balls were not the answer.

"It would be a great pity if the megastructure was demolished and lost forever. Where some people see a problem, we see great potential."

The Bauhaus delegation took over an empty shop in the town centre last week so they could speak to residents and bring together suggestions to enhance the community in the future.

Cumbernauld has been named three times as winner of the Carbuncle Award for the most dismal town in Scotland and has been removed from the contest to give others a chance.

It also featured in the Idler Book Of Crap Towns, which described it as a "Kafkaesque urban hellhole" and nicknamed it the "Kabul of the North".