The blocks were popularly known as 'Hutchie C' and nicknamed 'The Hanging Gardens of the Gorbals' in reference to the large balconies arranged in groups of four throughout the building.
For the first ten years the building was reasonably popular with its inhabitants, particularly in comparison with the conditions they had endured in the dilapidated tenements, although the reality of the 'ship in full sail' was that washing frequently blew away when hung out at such heights, while doors and windows were also subject to wind damage.
However, life in the building proved to be less popular over time because the maintenance required for such a large and complex structure had been underestimated from the beginning.
By November 1976, the local MP Frank McElhone, councillors and Scottish Office officials, attended a meeting called by the Laurieston and Hutchesontown Tenants' Associations, which pressed for a solution to the problems of damp and fungus in the buildings, water running down the walls and water beetles lodging in children's clothing.
Several tenants had been following a rent strike for a year to get action from Glasgow District Council.
The future of the blocks was a major issue in the 1982 by-election in the Glasgow Queen's Park burgh constituency, which covered the site.

The persistent dampness, coupled with the attendant problems of vandalism and the uncompromising design, meant that by the 1980s the complex had become a by-word for all that was worst in public sector housing.
In 1987 and 1988, the City Council undertook a major renovation, adding a sloping white roof with pediments, placing bright blue cladding around the exteriors of lift shafts, and enclosing the by-then unusable balconies in conservatories.
The blocks were popularly known as 'Hutchie C' and nicknamed 'The Hanging Gardens of the Gorbals' in reference to the large balconies arranged in groups of four throughout the building. For the first ten years the building was reasonably popular with its inhabitants, particularly in comparison with the conditions they had endured in the dilapidated tenements, although the reality of the 'ship in full sail' was that washing frequently blew away when hung out at such heights, while doors and windows were also subject to wind damage. However, life in the building proved to be less popular over time because the maintenance required for such a large and complex structure had been underestimated from the beginning. By November 1976, the local MP Frank McElhone, councillors and Scottish Office officials, attended a meeting called by the Laurieston and Hutchesontown Tenants' Associations, which pressed for a solution to the problems of damp and fungus in the buildings, water running down the walls and water beetles lodging in children's clothing. Several tenants had been following a rent strike for a year to get action from Glasgow District Council. The future of the blocks was a major issue in the 1982 by-election in the Glasgow Queen's Park burgh constituency, which covered the site.
The persistent dampness, coupled with the attendant problems of vandalism and the uncompromising design, meant that by the 1980s the complex had become a by-word for all that was worst in public sector housing. In 1987 and 1988, the City Council undertook a major renovation, adding a sloping white roof with pediments, placing bright blue cladding around the exteriors of lift shafts, and enclosing the by-then unusable balconies in conservatories.
Hutchesontown C