Glasgow bound motorists will have found ongoing M74 engineering works difficult to miss as the largest mobile crane in Europe continues to hoist sections of blue steel into position. The route will be Britain's most expensive road, weighing in at £445m, £89m per mile of tarmac to create the automobile equivalent of the mediaeval walled city with what eco warriors have slammed as an environmental car crash demonstrating planning that is more redolent of 1974 than M74. Improved traffic fluidity on the M8 is also doubted by campaigners who foresee a new choke point where motorways meet, a view shared by glum patrons of The Kiloran Bar, in the shadow of the elevated road, who have been pondering the inexorable march of steel between pints. Whichever side of the road you are on there is no denying that the project is a feat of engineering prowess and thus Urban Realm commissioned top photographer Mark Seager to dodge over-zealous security guards and record goings on.
Clarkson generation petrol heads are however rather more receptive to the concrete streets charms and the ability to sail unimpeded over the wreckage of Glasgow's industry. Remediation of contaminated land and opening access to the east end and Commonwealth Games site are adjudged to be a prize worth pursuing in this auto centric view.
Serving the Clyde Gateway the M74 will snake five miles from Tradeston to Rutherglen, a river of traffic paralleling the Clyde to cater for the cities current transport priorities. Skirting the Laurieston redevelopment area linking Fullarton Junction, Carmyle to the Kingston Bridge thus granting the SE quadrant of the city access to the motorway network. In addition diversion of south bound traffic is thought will limit congestion in the short term through the M8 city approaches.
Arnold Clark have won approval for a new build residential block behind the restored 1911 façade of their botanic Gardens Garage. Composed of green and white terracotta it is believed to be one of the first examples globally of a multi storey car park.. An existing garage annexe will be retained to the east.
Arnold Clark stated in their report that the A listed structure had deteriorated badly since Clark purchased the building in 1968 and now suffers from loose tiles, corroded structural steel and an eroded concrete façade and floors. A situation that could deteriorate further, AC argued, if no economic use could be found. The scheme will incorporate enhanced landscaping along Vinicombe Lane together with basement parking, retail, restaurant, office space in addition to homes. The red sandstone scheme supercedes a prior tiled variant.
Materials - Textured, pigmented concrete (ground level), with layered grey, silver and gold aluminium above.
Location - Pollokshaws Road/Albert Drive
Status - Complete
Start date -
Completion date - July 2008
Scotland's national dance company, Scottish Ballet, has ample cause to celebrate its 40th anniversary having recently moved into purpose built accommodation at the Tramway on Pollokshaws Road in Glasgow's south side. The challenging locale has been decrided by many as something of a graveyard for modern developments with a depressing slew of low budget horrors for neighbours. The most infamous of which being The Plaza which emerged as the unanimous winner of the 2009 Carbuncle award for "worst new building". It is within this unpromising context that Fraser has attempted to insert something of design merit whilst also accommodating the client's brief which called for provision of three key spaces: a scenery and technical workshop on the ground floor to allow delivery by lorry, an administrative space, music, wardrobe and storage area and most importantly rehearsal studios with light streaming in from above. It is the latter spaces which form the heart of what Scottish Ballet does and provide by far the most dramatic spaces with one room claimed to be Europe's largest rehearsal space, easily eclipsing Covent Garden's meagre 18x18m dimensions with a hefty 20x20m rooftop eyrie.
Indeed so voluminous is the space that it regulates its own microclimate, venting hot air through a series of nine skylights (each blinded to allow sunlight control) without recourse to mechanical ventilation. So successful is this passive system at wafting stale air from perspiring bodies that it is calculated that the working environment would only become uncomfortably fetid on days exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, climatic conditions of fortuitous scarcity. In addition the solid mass of the building's concrete floors prevents over heating in summer and cooling in winter whilst high level windows eliminate cold drafts circulating amongst performers; more than a discomfort these can cause muscular contraction and expose dancers to risk of injury. In addition to temperature regulation these skylights also serve to infuse ample natural light into interior spaces, which itself helps reduce running costs. Pre-armed with statistical evidence, project architect Clive Albert purports that some 60% more daylight is provided through a skylight than a corresponding window with the result that despite being 50% bigger than the old office, running costs are only 1% more, stating: "Gone are the days when you hermetically sealed a building and control temperature mechanically. We can't go on like that or we'll destroy the planet".
A seemingly fair construction budget disguises the portion of money spent on the existing Tramway building, which had to be kept open during the works and was remodelled internally to include a new visual arts studio. Delivered for £1,400sq/m as opposed to a more typical £1,600 for a commercial office block, the scheme was built to the same sq/m cost as Fraser's Dance City from 2001-5, despite subsequent inflation in building and materials cost. This necessarily led to a stripped down building. Despite the external appearance of a brand new building the Tramway dates back to 1893 and its original role to house horse drawn trams. Long ramps provided access from the buildings south side into stable spaces which lent themselves to office conversion as Albert explained: "We were worried about acoustics in an open plan office so installed perforated plasterboard to deaden sound. Old buildings always house surprises; we had to relay our floors because you couldn't sit at your desk without rolling backward, all the floors were originally built on a slope for stable cleaning!"
One feature of the unloved previous accommodation that management were keen to replicate was a large staircase and landing upon which people tended to congregate. This was reborn as a "social court" to bring people together as Albert describes: "The importance of this space is articulated through extensive Douglas fir cladding to imbue a warmth, character and harmony and acknowledge that this is something different. In a working building walls and doors inevitably become bashed but by using materials like wood which mature with age this building will look better in 20 years time than it does today with minimal maintenance." This attention to detail is reflected in services provision with power cords dropped from the ceiling to avoid trailing cables, sliding doors (a Fraser staple) to allow users to divide and double up space in accordance with need, stairwells wide enough for a dancer to ascend in costume and even a window sunk between the main entrance passageway and fabrication hall, allowing passers-by to glimpse the previously hidden world of stage construction.
Externally the main parapet lines of an adjoining church dictated height, necessitating a flat roof to maximise internal spaces. Clad in anodised aluminium with ground level concrete to handle the knockabout nature of a street frontage, the finish is textured to naturally discourage vandalism. Albert stresses: "A lot of people doubted the nature of the cladding but look at the grim render and badly stained bricks of neighbouring developments. These act as magnets for airborne particulates and simply don't work in urban areas. This sheeting is vertically profiled to self clean in the rain and we deliberately used dark gold because of all the range of colours available through the chemical process the deepest gold fades least when exposed to UV."
Speaking of the lack of ostentation in the design Albert explained: "It is a factory and not by and large a public building. It is used to create, experiment, perform and rehearse and is thus very different to what you would experience in the theatre." Lady luck offered a helping hand to the designers too, placing a fortuitous kink on the Pollokshaws Road site which grants an open view to Glasgow through floor to ceiling glazing and a patch of greenery opposite imparts a sense of nature in the urban location. Further cognisance of site is demonstrated by the insertion of a projecting social space looking up an adjacent railway line. An uncompromising pursuit of minimalism was discounted by Albert, however, who considered the style in its extreme as inappropriate for a working building as previous precedent with the removal of skirting boards had led to residue build up on the walls from cleaning processes, and white doors, whilst looking pretty initially, quickly become scruffy when users neglect to use the push plates and spoil the paintwork.
Clearly then the team at Malcolm Fraser has performed a commendable job in accommodating the needs of Scottish Ballet and its pedigree in the field does shine through in the many small details to be found within. It is perhaps the bigger picture though that is less immediately pleasurable with a somewhat utilitarian finish requiring more than a drive-by glance to fully appreciate. It is stated that the building has been designed to mature with age and as neighbouring schemes rapidly lose their new build sheen that disparity in quality can only become more pronounced.
This brownfield site has lain undeveloped for years following the demise but now Crème Developments believe they’ve hit upon a financially viable scheme for the key west end site. Adopting an L plan footprint the structure wraps around a raised landscape deck above ground floor parking and refuse collection with balcony railings added to the front and screening timber louvres to the rear. Parapet and cornice lines are carried with upper floors recessed although symmetry is impaired by low modern ceiling heights. On the right is a 2007 proposal from Anderson Bell Christie.
Cost - £120 million / £87 million (Beatson Oncology Centre, Phase 2) / £8 million (Leukaemia Centre)
Location - Gartnavel
Status - Planned
Start date - 2009
Completion date - 2012 / 2007 (Beatson)
Gartnavel Hospital is to incorporate Atkin's planned Beatson oncology clinical laboratories & leukaemia research fund centre (pictured) with Ryder HKS's/Hypostyle's Beatson phase 2.
A piecemeal upgrade of Gartnavel will see the campus take on services currently provided by the Western, necessitating its closure. Rationalisation of the Gartnavel campus will free land for residential use. Reiach and Hall's Cancer Research centre pictured.
New Campus Glasgow : Published 17/01/10 Official site
A giant brouhaha has erupted over the controversial appointment of Atkins to Glasgow’s New Campus project. A plan to unite the cities Central, Metropolitan and Nautical Studies Colleges together onto a shared £300m campus complementing Strathclyde Universities "single campus" estates development.In today’s financially straightened climate the big ticket commission for what is in effect a new city quarter drummed up international interest with five teams shortlisted for the design including Archial, BDP, Hopkins (with Bennetts), RMJM (with Frank Gehry) and Atkins (with Michael Laird). Dark mutterings of foul play have fostered an atmosphere of discontent following the appointment, with many querying the suitability, justness and appropriateness of the decision. Key to complaints is a lack of prominence given to design at the competition stage where unlike the Glasgow School of Art competition, whose jury was chaired by architect David Mackay, New Campus at four times the size did not contain a single architect on the jury, a fact that astounded many.
Responding to these criticisms Iain Marley, Programme Director for the New Campus project, said: “Design was part of the process for selecting the winning team but we didn’t select a design, that’s the key difference here. It wasn’t a design competition, it was a designer competition. Design submissions were based on the very limited information that we provided and the objective of the exercise was not to appraise them on the basis of their architectural merit, it was to understand how practices interpreted the information we gave them on the projects objectives. We’ll move into the design stage in the New Year once we’ve established our development strategy.” Speculation is rife however that rather than soliciting the best designer the process merely filtered out the lowest fee bid. A fact lent credence by an extraordinary anomaly in the fee submissions which came in at around £12 -15m save for Atkins, whose bid of approx. £6.75m trumped everyone, a gulf referred to as a “rogue fee.” Naturally such an outcome left competing parties severely non plussed with several describing the process as “shocking.” BDP
It is argued that running a competition with no baseline for fees was fundamentally unjust. An argument bolstered by comparison with the GSA competition where Stephen Holl won on a fee bid of 5.7% for architecture only. Atkins won New Campus on a fee bid of 3.46% and that in a project of far greater complexity. Such a chasm disturbs many involved in the process: “You cannot do a project for that fee level” said one.
A scoring matrix set out by the organisers came in for heavy criticism for disproportionately favouring low cost over strong design. In marks out of 40 for cost Atkins cleaned up with a weighty 37, dwarfing their nearest challenger BDP who scraped a paltry 7. Complaints are rife that benchmarking bids against the lowest and most detached submission created a “highly distorted formula.” Indeed so low was Atkins submission that many bids were subsequently sunk with ‘nil points’, instantly dunking them out of contention. One individual close to proceedings opined: “The lowest fee bid was always going to win regardless of quality due to a mathematical multiplier applied to assessments.” RMJM
Marley is adamant however that the results were not skewed. “It was carried out under the European and Scottish Government procurement rules and the evaluation criteria reflected the public procurement guidance. It’s a matter of record that the financial elements comprise 35% of the total marks, so it’s simply not the case to suggest that pricing which is of course commercially sensitive and confidential skewed the overall score towards the low fee submission. This is all standard stuff the whole scoring mechanism has been used on many other projects; it’s not unique to us. That’s just a red herring.” Archial
New Campus insist that they are convinced Atkins can deliver their promises on budget but deny claims that this will be achieved through outsourcing work to China. Marley explained: “This is just the rumour mill gone mad, that is not the case at all. The project at the moment is being resourced from Atkins office on the Broomielaw in Glasgow. There may be some elements, in common with other large projects which maybe outsourced but for this stage and the key design stages there will be no significant element that will take place out with Glasgow. This is a significant investment in a Scottish practice.”
Concerns remain that Atkins are not recognised as a design team, a fact openly admitted by Atkins head of architecture Martin Pease in a recent bd article in which a policy of poaching design talent was articulated to redress the balance. In the article Peace stated: “We have a reputation of being a good, solid, dependable, technically robust, on time and on budget firm. That is a good building block for us but we’re not recognised as a design leader. We want to be known as design-led and innovative.” An insider commented: “If I were New Campus reading that I would be very uncomfortable.”
Another source of consternation for some parties was a lack of consultation with outside agencies, in particular the Townhead community, Architecture + Design Scotland, the neighbouring universities of Strathclyde and Caledonian Universities or the Glasgow Urban Review Panel. It is also alleged that no consideration was given to student council opinions on the submitted schemes. Hopkins
But Marley counters: “What would we have asked those parties to contribute to? I think there’s a misunderstanding there, this was a selection procedure brought about under European rules. Frankly it would have been inappropriate to involve those in a designer competition. It’s absolutely critical that we consult Townhead residents on this project but they really have no locus on the selection of this team. You wouldn’t involve them in that any more than you would in the selection of our lawyers, financial advisers or managers. It’s actually quite an absurd idea."
Neither Atkins nor New Campus was willing to submit sketch drawings of the winning bid with Marley stating: “For us it would be counterproductive to share even the sketch drawings which we had because they’ve got no status. The issue for me is that if they were presented in that manner most people would read it and think that’s what we’re proposing to build and I might have liked this one and that one and the other, but that was never an objective of the exercise.”
5 Birness Drive, 22 floors : Refurbished 2010 : Published 08/01/10 19 Birness Drive, 18 floors : Refurbished 2010 31 Birness Drive, 22 floors : Refurbished 2010 Image taken by Emma Mykytyn. Wates Living Space are in the final stages of recladding and lighting the Birness estate, Pollokshaws. All flats will subsequently benefit from new kitchens, bathrooms and re-wiring.
A new Multi Agency Serious Crime Campus will bring together the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Serious Organised Crime Agency, Scottish police Services Authority forensic service, Crown Office, Procurator Fiscal and HM Revenue & Customs. The bringing together of a number of key law enforcement agencies in a purpose built state of the art facility will allow the sharing of expertise, innovation and resources to provide a coordinated response to organised crime. The proposal forms part of the wider regeneration of the former Ravenscraig steelworks.
Urban Realm : Published 07/01/10
After much deliberation, machination and ink spillage the first ever edition of Urban Realm, a magazine about the streets, has hit the streets! Building on the success of Prospect Magazine Urban Realm brings you the same great reports on architecture but does so with a sharper visual style and more in depth reporting.
Bigger than ever UR breaks new ground by bringing together all sectors central to our built environment including energy, transport, sustainability and master planning from a UK and global perspective. See what all the fuss is about and sign up for a free trial today.
Redevco propose to redevelop derelict upper floors in the former Arnotts building for commercial use, presently favouring a budget hotel. To improve marketability of current low rent and empty premises a double height glazed frontage could be installed at ground floor level whilst an atrium space could open up the deep floorplans.
Following announcement of a revamped Olympia Shopping Centre, G1 Group have revealed plans to replace the current dilapidated Stuart Hotel with a cutting edge new build above a plinth space housing a function room, bar, restaurant and basement nightclub.
This plinth will engage the street via a collonaded walkway. It is intended to develop this as a “destination” within the town with hard landscaping and stepped seating will be introduced to define public space.
Previous scheme
A striking cube of mettalic and glass elements from 3D Reid could soon grace East Kilbride. A distinctive look is achieved by visualising distinction of use in interlocking silver and bronze halves to form a whole that aims for gold in East Kilbride's leisure circuit.
Floor space - Building 4 : 73,874sq/ft
Capella : 111,000sq/ft
Building 6 : 77,350sq/ft
Cost - £150 million (£25 million, Capella)
Location - York street, Robertson street
Status - Complete
Start date - January 2006 (Building 4), July 2007 (Capella)
Completion date - Summer 2007 (Building 4), August 2009 (Capella)
Capella is one of the first developments in Glasgow to use unitised curtain walling, a technique which greatly increases construction efficiency.
Construction work has begun on the final phase of Atlantic Quay. Capella comprises grade A office space set against a backdrop of high quality public realm incorporating a public square, tree planting and black granite chairs to form a key component of the city's "International Financial Services District", underground parking is provided throughout.
Opinion
Alternating clear, tinted and coloured panels merge into a matrix of bold red (since displaced to bronze) enveloping the facade, perhaps inspiring the primary colour scheme of 220 Broomielaw and bringing a touch of fun to normally conservative corporatism. The curving form is dictated by a semi complete public amphitheatre, Capella rounds this off and brings it to life by way of ground floor retail/leisure and enhancing the civic realm with tree planting, porphry stone paving and LED lighting. Building 4 is now externally complete.
A derelict McDonalds in Govan could serve up a treat if this king size office block gets off the ground. Sandwiched between the Clyde Tunnel and Southern General Hospital it is well sited to tap into the growth potential of the latter.
Drummond House is to be remodelled from office to hotel usage intended to reinforce Garnethill whilst providing a platform for the easyHotel brand with internally illuminated orange lightboxes. easyHotel do not license or permitrestaurants, bars, cafes, lounges or public areas, limiting themselves to vending machines only. 70% of rooms will be windowless which surprisingly sell out first due to keen pricing. To the right TCA Design Associates proposed addition of a penthouse level with a sedum green roof system, It has not been submitted to planning.
Materials - Unitised curtain walling, aluminium fins, thermastone and render
Total beds - 210
Height - 17 floors
Cost -
Location - 141 West Nile St
Start date -
Completion date -
Existing concrete cladding panels on this obsolecent block are to be stripped and replaced with curtain walling and aluminium fins to both provide depth to the elevations and impart verticality to the tower whilst contrasting with solid horizontal banding on the podium level. 50% of the existing rooftop antennae will be removed with the remainder enclosed and strip lighting specific to the Premier Inn brand will integrate with signage. The business premises renovation allowance may make the project viable.
Opinion
Whilst certainly ticking all the right boxes the scheme is nonetheless hamstrung by necessity of working with a poorly designed and specced structure and the resultant degree of compromise which could have been avoided. That said forced retention does bequeath a height new build would struggle to replicate whilst the glazed and stone cladding certainly imparts a clinical freshness to the present stained monolith. The reworked podium is less convincing, seeming to rise above the street line and back for no good reason, perhaps soluble through provision of rooftop cafe terracing.
A series of landscape strips carry up and over the building with each strip taking a slightly different route. This creates a series of folds which help to deconstruct the towers mass. Rhino and Gehry Technologies software was used to develop sketch designs in more complex geometries.
Taking a 13 degree deviation from true north of Glasgow's grid pattern as their cue (thought to originate from the use of magnetic compasses rather than astronomy when Glasgow's streets were layed), RMJM have devised a series of concepts to play with this angle for a new housing development one of which ingeniously exposing southerly aspect to a proportion of North facing flats. Tight geography affords slender profile abetted by welcome height extension competing for presence alongside Custom House Quay. It supercedes Page and Park's 43 home, 15 floor, 51.5m bee hive an interesting concoction of Stainless steel perforated sheets, glass and red sandstone.
Beds - 1,950 (1,100 adult, 240 children & 600 existing)
Location - 1345 Govan Road
Status - Outline Planning
Start date - November 2010
Completion date - August 2015
The new Southern will be NHS Glasgow's flagship comparing favourably with a spate of "super" hospitals now under construction across Britain, product of a sustained government spending spree since 2000 which now sees healthcare swallowing 9.4% of GDP. Notably health authorities here have chosen not to seek assistance from the private sector, gambling against build delays and inflationary pressure for a mortgage free future of increased efficiencies realised through a lower staffing requirement and reduced inter hospital rotation and bureacracy.
All rooms are envisioned as single occupancy with en suite facilities enjoying panoramic aspect across the Glasgow conurbation replete with sky gardens formed by laying 'sedum' grass roofs on the adjoining Childrens Hospital. Bespoke adult and Children's services will be combined by a subterranean link incorporating a new laboratory testing centre and shared power plant to ensure 24hr coverage. The Clock tower and Management Building are Grade B listed and as such are to be remodelled internally for administration usage connecting with the main hospital via landscaped pathways. Public Transport (or lack thereof) remains an issue, but should be dealt with by routing Fastlink through the site, a new Govan Interchange may also go some way toward making public transport more palatable.
An extension to the neonatal unit will incorporate (finance permitting) artwork to signify public entrances. The unit will form a pedestrian zone in front of the new Childrens hospital with link bridges above. Alternate options for space configuration were looked at, a single storey hospital for instance would have been 1.4km long and 140m wide. It being established that height was necessary lift considerations subsequently propelled the design higher still as wait times take the largest hit of time time, favouring a taller build as additional floors do not significantly add to travel times. Sitting on a robust masonry plinth the building will rise in lighter form above, with clear segregation of short stay patients in close proximity to entrances and public areas whilst longer stay patients will be grouped in further flung wards. Boswell Mitchell and Johnson meanwhile are working on a separate £50m laboratory building at the complex. Clad in Tew patina angled seam copper, Ibstock linear Staffordshire blue slate to the base course and Sto render to rear courtyards, it will commence on site rather sooner, January 2010.
Opinion
Four projecting wings radiate from a central services core providing all wards with panoramic views and ease of access, although measures will require to be taken to mitigate noise pollution from the rooftop helipad. A sheath of glazing allows maximum exposure to natural light and a playful muted scheme of randomly spaced colour panels dress the facade, belying the schemes rigid geometry. Site environs will be landscaped to provide a tranquil backdrop for recuperation but are unlikely to achieve full effectiveness in the present poisonous atmosphere courtesy Shieldhall sewage treatment works.
2/4 Fountainwell Place, 20 floors (58m) 16/18 Fountainwell Place, 20 floors (58m) 37/49 Fountainwell Avenue, 20 floors (58m)
Those taking an early kip this 28 November would have been rudely awoken as much of the city reverbrated to the sound of explosives. Network Rail insisted on a series of early hours implosions to minimise disruption to rail services ensuring a sequence of spectacular floodlit demolitions, one year on from n earlier night time blast, the first of their kind on UK soil. The resulting Pompeiian ash storm the last act of the three beasts.
Opinion
Sighthill must unfortunately rate as one of the bleakest housing schemes in the city, an apparently random scattering of slab blocks as wide as they are tall dominate a post industrial landscape of wasteground and, perhaps symbolically, a graveyard. Opportunity for improvement is therefore huge with chance to establish a proper streetscape and better integrate the estate with the city centre by overcoming the physical barrier of the M8 with ample land for any amount of housing and parkland. Nevertheless even at this early stage tentative proposals seem to have aroused a degree of negativity by a minority of residents. In a diverse community of some 3,500 homes you cannot hope to achieve full unanimity, responsibility therefore rests with gha to properly present their plans, such a move is certain to assuage the waverers.
NM UK have reaffirmed their commitment to Custom House Quay by establishing a new consortium with Moorfield Real Estate following bankruptcy of their previous partner, Australian tycoon Rodney Price. Lending credence to Newby’s ambitions comes news that Hilton Hotels believe the site “has potential” although the hotels group have not at this stage confirmed involvement. In addition Spanish banking giant Santander has confirmed to Glasgow City Council that they remain “keen” to provide funding for the development. The consortium plans a similar scheme to RMJM’s original masterplan but with 3DReid updating the designs. Retail, bars, function rooms and office space are also included.
Previous scheme
Bearing promise of increased pedestrian activity courtesy of a new restaurant pavilion and improved landscaping the statue of La Pasionaria would have been retained and the water bus pontoon movedfrom under Central Station to the west of the new promenade. Exposed red corten steel of the Quay wall will be hidden by gabion walls, timber and "super graphics". The RMJM scheme will impact upon Dixon street tower and gm+ad's Unicorn tower.
Design details on the residential blocks which were to house some 348 homes.
Opinion
Satisfying scale, ambition and height alongside a slender art moderne stone clad tower ought make this scheme a winner. Unfortunately it falls flat in the design of six residential blocks of extremely poor composition. Bulky repetition overwhelms the area, questionable cladding is ill suited to context and smacks of overkill. Nonetheless approved by authorities doubtless desperate to be rid of responsibility for a scrappy and abused waterfront populated by a bemusing raggle of vagrants. Ironically the one change affected has seen loss of the superior hotel portion although this may have been blessing in disguise as residential dependancy may now be affecting the schemes commercial viability. Just as a distinctive architectural district looked like emerging on Clyde Street RMJM snuff it out in one fell swoop. Doubly annoying because RMJM can create beyond the derivative (witness 10 Dixon Street), sadly for them (and us) CHQ is all we'll ever see.
Floor space - Building 1 : 161,000sq/ft
Building 2 : 66,000sq/ft
Building 3 : 150 bed hotel, health club & conference centre
Cost - £90 million
Location - York street, James Watt street
Status - Approved
Start date - n/a
Completion date - n/a
A glazed courtyard providing enhanced pedestrian connections through the IFSD defines the “heart” of Atlantic Square providing amenity for workers, residents and visitors amidst 20,000sq/ft of retail space. Whilst a "B" listed facade at York street has been demolished the "A"listed facade on James Watt Street will remain. This Residential will adjoin the York St elevation. Public realm investment will introduce wide whinstone kerbs, porphyry slab and setts, granite setts, stainless steel bollards, benches and lighting columns.
Previous design BDP's original scheme had been granted detailed planning consent and was further developed in a sketch proposal to reflect the planners aspiration of cohesive design across neighbouring Atlantic Square and Quay developments.
Entering Egyptian Halls is an experience akin to entering one of the tombs from which Alexander "Greek" Thomson took inspiration for this his finest surviving commercial work. Past steel security shutters the hustle and light of Union Street swiftly gives way to a fraught torchlight crawl up a stairwell which grants access to the first floor, an open plan space formerly occupied by a Chinese restaurant. The occasional spot of incongruous Mandarin and a nightmarish kitchen now enveloped entirely by darkness save for two feature atria drawing guano dappled light to the interior. These measures are in place not to deter grave robbers but rather to dissuade Glasgow's transient population from bedding down on its musty floors. The detritus from pre secured entry days still litters the floors of the building in the form of page three girls, Irn Bru cans and the odd takeaway wrapper providing clue to the Halls' last unwelcome tenants. Such artefacts are promised to be removed in a clear up of the premises by owners Union Street Developments Ltd. Mark Seager
It is a sad fall for one of the city's remaining Thomson landmarks, a fall that has been less precipitous than surreptitious. From the street the Halls' solid masonry appears eternal, but this masks ongoing degradation of the interior structure, a deterioration that threatens the structural stability of the building. Described as Thomson's finest surviving commercial work, the structure, when built in 1872, was originally less a warehouse and more a bazaar or early shopping mall replete with an exhibition gallery. Six cast iron lamp standards once stood proudly at the entrance but have since been removed. Bearing witness to this sad tale of decline over the past decade is fast talking Dundonian developer Derek Souter of USD Ltd. A larger than life figure who has been campaigning to convert the ailing landmark into a hotel or office space for over 11 years. He declared: "If this final opportunity is not realised and if the floors can't be repaired, then the stairs go and the facade will need to be propped and perhaps eventually demolished due to combined cost and structural issues. This is a doomsday scenario for Union Street which is in dire need of regeneration NOW." Mark Seager
Costs of refurbishment have soared on the A listed warehouse after a 20 year period of prevarication, in which time the building fabric has continued to deteriorate. Said Souter: "We've spent the last three years with GCC/Historic Scotland stating what would happen and it is now becoming reality at an accelerating pace. Our plans, which would preserve the building's unique iron framework and add a three storey extension, were first raised in late 2006. Now it's conceded by GCC that "there's structural issues" with the floors, which literally skyrockets the costs and which we'd also identified late 2006." However, with long running problems over ownership resolved after Glasgow City Council (GCC) served compulsory purchase orders on upper floor owners in 1995, Souter and his fellow investors (Duncan Souter and Kelvin Kerr) now enjoy 100% control and the flexibility to seek a partnership with Historic Scotland, GCC, Scottish Enterprise and the private sector to secure the estimated £12m costs.
Revised plans for the Halls to be submitted by the Morrison Partnership/Addison Conservation to receive listed building consent for the upper floors to become offices or (more likely) a 110-120 bedroom hotel with Retail/Restaurant/ Bars on the ground floor and a business centre or gym in the basement area are to go before the council shortly. Critical to this redevelopment is provision of a three tiered set back glass extension to crown the Halls. Inevitably some commentators have balked at the desecration of an A listed structure with an extension that drops any classical allusions in favour of a straightforward glazed setback which developer and architect insist will not intrude upon the primary elevation when viewed from the street. Souter agues however that obsession over the elevations detracts from the real issue of saving the building: "As a director of the company that could save this building there's a darn sight more than just the "elevations" i.e. the unique cast iron frame. If we'd been allowed to proceed with our previous scheme in 2000 we'd not have needed the extra floors as we do now, due to massive cost increases. Then again this is a real project, which needs a sustainable, deliverable commercial future. No Lighthouse here I'm afraid to say!" Mark Seager
Interestingly that symbol of public sector profligacy could be thrown a lifeline in phase two of these works which would see creation of the Mackintosh/Thomson Mews, a commercial arcade running through Mitchell Lane and creating a new route from Buchanan Street to Central Station. USP regard this move as a means to increasing the commercial sustainability of the Lighthouse by enhancing east west permeability through the city centre, though it may come too late to save the architecture centre itself. If the fraught 21 year history of Egyptian Halls regeneration efforts is anything to go by the omens for a speedy resolution do not appear good. So why is Souter optimistic that things will work out this tme? Souter believes the impending Commonwealth Games does provide a bigger incentive commercially than the City of Culture way back in 1999. This optimism assumes grant funding and planning permission will be granted by December allowing work to commence on site by March 2010. Time will tell if this transpires but, as Souter says, we owe it to Alexnder "Greek" Thomson to achieve this. Perhaps the city also owes it to itself to ensure the lasting legacy of one of its most famous architectural sons.
Subject to a pre-let a two storey glass pavilion structure is to be constructed above Granite House, extending the supply of office space and visually harmonising with Lujo Properties 100 Osborne St.
Trongate 103 aims to provide a one stop shop for education, display and sale of work by eight visual, tactile and performance artists who now call the centre home.The space is intended as a “functional backdrop” for people to use and adopts numerous touches such as high level windows to maximise hanging space whilst still permitting natural light and promote “social” functions by permitting noise. The Centre complements ongoing work at the adjacent Britannia Panopticon theatre which has recently had its façade restored, however no overt attempt has been made to integrate the two properties. Now is perhaps an inauspicious time for a launch with the Lighthouse’s much publicised collapse into administration but scheme backers point out that the two venues remits are entirely distinct and that tenants here are going concerns, each having operated a successful business plan for years.
Almost 100 years on from the original architectural competition for the Glasgow School of Art a unanimous decision has been made for a new building to match the lauded Mackintosh building in creative vision and scale of ambition in respectful rivalry. New York based Holl will work with Henry McKeown and Ian Alxander of JM’s Glasgow office together with the GSA to refine their concept masterplan for the new teaching, learning and research facility, placing particular emphasis on light and circulation. They were the only team to retain the school’s down at heel 1930’s student union which will be entirely enveloped by the new.
Alternate designs
Amongst the practices to submit were Elder & Cannon who have adopted a solid, tactile approach, displaying a robust copper finish lightened by full height glazing in a regimented rhythm along the length of Renfrew Street. Francisco Mangado on the other hand are pursuing a playful approach with a grand foyer space displaying due deference to the masters work across the road and offset by a feature cantilever above. Slender external skeleton of subtly hued fins inject a splash of colour. Hopkins has made use of the south facing façade to create a new sun trap on Renfrew Street along pedestrianised outdoor steps.
Utilising a wood cut model John McAslan and Nord have produced a sculptural response to context, developing a series of stacked cubes to break down the buildings mass and disguising a voluminous central atrium space. Benson & Forsyth who propose a multi layered angular box draped with greenery and topped by a dramatic roof garden. Central to the project is a grand double entrance directly facing the famous steps of the Mack. An enigmatic entry follows from Grafton Architects, with indistinct line drawings appearing to show the common dual height entrance space, decorated by hanging art. A solid masonry façade is broken by Tetris style inserts whilst a glazed ground level grants sight direct to a basement level.
A modern interpretation of Robert Owen’s nearby world heritage village of New Lanark, managed and owned by its residents and run on co-operative principles is planned to promote economic development with renewable energy from waste and natural resources will be harnessed to provide a self-sustaining society. All homes will be built using an on-site modular building factory and cater for a choice of tenure incorporating a range of accommodation from flats to mansions. Owenstown has been criticised by planning consultants for being less new town and more new sprawl, with doubts raised as to whether Owen would appreciate his name being usurped in this way and how the developer, as a non profit charity, hopes to finance the enterprise.
Materials - Beer cans, tyres and shipping containers
Cost - £2m
Location - Milton
Start Date -
Status - Proposed
With the private sector in the doldrums and an indebted public sector braced for swingeing cuts who is going to fill the economic breach? Who can tap into the "drive" so often absent from state driven diktat in areas where the private sector fears to tread?
Milton is something of a time warp with its poverty keeping the detritus of prosperity Ð executive homes, business parks and retail sheds at bay more effectively than legislation ever could. The limit of the city's urban extent is marked by a canal, a row of six tower blocks and thenÉ fields. It is one of the most dramatic urban boundaries in the city and makes for a surreal sight, particularly with many post war tenements being demolished and replaced withÉ nothing. Effectively this is the high water mark of a city in retreat. It is into this landscape that Colston Milton Parish Church and the local community plan a project of greater audacity than many of the big budget extravagances in the city centre: a community space, activity hall and place of worship, constructed from nothing but recycled materials and built, largely, from local labour.
The scheme was initially sparked by the decision of the church to sell off land and their main worship space for flats, leaving just a hall which the organisation had to share with the boy's brigade and several community groups. This alone was costing £10k a year to heat and power, prompting the minister, Rev Christopher Rowe, to stipulate any new building be self sustainable in its energy use and be built by local people under ownership of the community. Rowe brought onboard architect Lee Ivett, of Baxendale Design Co. Ltd, who described a faltering start with wild rumours circulating through the community that a drug rehabilitation centre was planned and with several locals up in arms about having any development near their homes. Tackling the rumour mill head on Ivett took time out to go door to door with a model of his plans: "There was no local council and a history of apathy with things not getting done so we set out with a consultation to establish what the community needed. It isn't a token thing; literally anyone can join this organisation and own the project.Ê It's not like the Council has built a new resource and residents are involved because they were consulted, or planted some trees or have a membership card people were genuinely integral to the process.
"We looked at what the need was for the project, we didn't say what do you want? We asked what do you like/hate about where you live and got to the root causes of people's positive or negative perceptions because what people want is a swimming pool or a Tesco and that isn't necessarily what can be delivered. It's about informing the community about what they can achieve, the level that they can achieve, off their own back and how that can start meeting some of the particular needs of that area." To effect this the Love Milton brand was developed, which is now a company ltd by guarantee and applying for charitable status. Ivett recalls: "Forming a group of people with no track record and seeing people progress through steering groups to a proper constituted committee and on to form a companyÉ that is a model for regenerating communities."
The church identified a location right in the heart of the area with the worst anti social behaviour and crime rate, a move that proved surprisingly reassuring for Ivett who welcomes this brave embrace of adversity. Landscape architects have been brought on board to look at the wider public realm to avoid creating a walled compound but rather a building within an urban park. This means existing pedestrian routes on the site can be maintained such that every elevation is supervised passively. Milton's flock numbers only around 50 so Ivett was keen to avoid building something vast in plan; instead a sense of scale was developed through height and volume. In addition the congregation was looking to move away from a hierarchical layout of pews toward something that was more inclusive with the minister in the centre of a semi circle. This dictation of plan led to the natural adoption of an ellipse shaped tepee like structure, topped by a central south facing aperture that focuses light down upon the sermon.
This sense of drama is accentuated by sinking the sanctuary space 1.5m below ground level so people have to descend a processional ramp to reach the central chamber. The idea behind this is to build a sense of anticipation, gradation and theatre, rather than merely opening a door and being hit by the space. In form there is no consistency between the constituent parts of the scheme, an approach Ivett admits veers from architectural orthodoxy but then as a project the entire concept is very far from orthodox. "Generally there's a desire, because you've been taught it, to keep a consistent architectural language all the way through. There isn't a consistency in architectural language here but there's a consistency of materials, we're using timber cladding reclaimed pallets, tiles and corrugated metal and in some form each of those three types appear on each elevation."
Shipping containers define internal space within whilst a green roof punctuated by photovoltaic cells, complemented by wind power and/or biomass, will provide half of all power. Ground source heat pumps, essentially a tube inserted one metre into the earth, will draw upon the inherent warmth found there to create a decent ambient temperature. "There may be a design where the local input of volunteers might be more hands on than simply bolting some things together and we're looking at what that involvement would be. We've got a glulam timber structural frame with straw bail infilled walls and are using rammed earth car tyres for the gables. This, along with painting, lining and fitting out the containers, are all things that most people can get involved with.
"We can't have a situation where we're just inviting people to turn up on a weekend and knock something together. We have to develop a process that is professional, rigorous. We looked at whether we could contract it out, put it to tender, get a specialist eco builder in or set up our own company to do it as a social enterprise. By developing the skills and management techniques with this building people can go on and build their own houses or that experience can be sold to other groups. Over 5, 10, 15 years a vehicle and organisation could be established with the wherewithal to improve the community in whichever way they saw fit.
"The idea is they would set up a company to manage and deliver this project, they would hire a project coordinator, a construction manager and that core group of professional people would bring in the relevant training partners, skilled and unskilled labour. It is silly to assume that this will all be done by volunteers. Plumbing, electrics, structural frame all have to be delivered by specialist subcontractors. We've been very specific about which elements can be delivered by work experience programmes and the unemployed."
Approaches are being made to the Scottish Climate Challenge fund for further funding but the group will need to find the money for this themselves. Even in the current financial climate Ivett is optimistic of raising the required millions: "It's a high value scheme with a low comparative cost so hopefully money can be raised and the project delivered."GCC have granted a development hold on the site in favour of Love Milton, giving the company until March 2011 to develop their proposals further and also transfer ownership. This means the land cannot be sold to anyone over the next year, ensuring the site remains free for development until funding is found. Before a beer can has even been laid though the scheme is reaping positive spin offs for the Milton area with a documentary in the making alongside copious column inches a dramatic shift for a locale more used to reading about the lowest this or highest percentile that for health and crime. Perhaps the real legacy being built here isn't architectural but societal.
BDP
RMJM
Archial 
Hopkins
Image taken by Emma Mykytyn. 
Mark Seager 
Mark Seager 
Mark Seager 
