Description
Join Raymond Young, who literally wrote the book on Annie’s Loo, and Carmen Lean from Loco Home Retrofit to hear more about the history of Annie’s Loo and how we can make tenement retrofit accessible.
Raymond will kick things off by discussing Annie’s Loo, which might not have been the first tenement retrofit, but the way it was carried out effectively kick started a programme throughout inner city Glasgow and beyond. He’ll discuss the context, the process, and the outcome. And maybe the future?
We’ll then hear from Carmen Lean of Loco Home Retrofit who will talk about Glasgow’s checkered history of retrofit and how we can learn from successes, failures and everything in between. How can we make quality retrofit more affordable and led by the people who live in tenements? Carmen will look at Loco Home’s evolving community-based approach, will share lessons learned from grappling with Glasgow’s old, cold and gas guzzling homes, and why we look to ‘Annie’s Loo’ for inspiration of retrofit done right.
Raymond Young was one of the founder members of ASSIST, the community architecture practice in Govan that pioneered both tenement rehabilitation and community-based housing associations, the story of which he tells in his book ‘Annie’s Loo’. He has a long term interest in community regeneration and sustainability and worked with the Housing Corporation and Scottish Homes. Previous roles included first chair of Architecture and Design Scotland, non-executive member of Historic Scotland, convenor of the Rural Housing Service, a member of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and chair of the Church of Scotland’s General Trustees.
Carmen Lean is the Community Development Officer for Loco Home Retrofit CIC which is a community-led home retrofit co-operative, based in Glasgow. Set up in 2021, Loco Home has a growing membership of around 200 retrofitters in Glasgow. Before joining Loco Home earlier this year, Carmen worked in climate action and campaigned against the demolition of Glasgow’s highrises. She studied architecture at Glasgow School of Art.
