One of the most significant regeneration schemes in the UK the Athletes’ Village is located in the East End of Glasgow. It was delivered by City Legacy, a consortium of Glasgow based companies in partnership with Glasgow City Council.

The development brief required that City Legacy deliver 700 homes, including 300 homes for sale, all of which would be constructed in a depressed market, several years in advance of any sales or projected sales values being confirmed. This requirement faced the constraints of existing site infrastructure, and the need to reconcile the specific requirements for initial use as accommodation for 6,500 athletes and officials for a two-week period, which would incorporate City Legacy’s preferred mix of house types based on sales projections and the requirements of housing associations.

CCG was responsible for the design of all of the development’s house types and led the construction of 237 of the new homes. CCG OSM’s iQ enhanced closed panel timber system, inclusive of insulation, service zones and pre-installed windows and door screens that were also manufactured by CCG, was used for the construction.

Clear span floor and roof cassettes were installed to create open-plan arrangements and flexible living space with home grown Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) used in the structural walls achieving a wall U-Value rating of 0.12.

As the Commonwealth Games had a fixed start date, site management was crucial in the delivery of the housing. The use of the CCG OSM timber system enabled full construction delivery within 15 months, a 7 month advance on the construction programme with a typical terrace of 8 townhouses constructed, wind and water tight, in just 10 days. The applied use of ‘Modern Methods of Construction’ ensured that the 700 homes were collectively complete in 700 days.

The homes, as well as the adjacent sports arenas, are powered by a state-of-the-art district heating system which supplies instantaneous heat and constant hot water. The system is approximately 30% – 40% more efficient than conventional heating schemes, providing residents with substantial cost benefits. Alongside a Fabric First Approach to housing design as well as the use of solar PV panels, this contributed to a 95% carbon reduction on 2007 levels.