Rationalisation of NHS Greater Glasgow Hospital Services will involve complete rebuilding of EVERY major hospital in the city. Specifically all inpatient services will be catered for by new South, West and Royal Hospitals. Stobhill and Victoria Infirmaries will be downgraded to cater for outpatients only whilst the Western Infirmary and Yorkhill will be demolished. Yorkhill being replaced by a new Children's Hospital at the South Glasgow Hospital, thus freeing up valuable development land adjacent to Kelvingrove for University/Residential expansion.
Beds - 1,950 (1,100 adult, 240 children & 600 existing)
Location - 1345 Govan Road
Status - Outline Planning
Start date - Summer 2009
Completion date - 2012-14
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 which can see major capital projects built for free but at price of expensive lease back arrangements which can last decades. By paying up front authorities are 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.
South Glasgow Hospital: £842 million 1,100 beds 100% single rooms
Royal London Hospital: £1 billion 1,248 beds 40% single rooms
Birmingham Super Hospital: £559 million 1,213 beds 44% single rooms
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.
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.
The new ward block to be constructed will allow the existing Edwardian block to be vacated, probably to be transformed to residential accommodation. A 1,000 space multi-storey car park has already been constructed to replace lost surface parking. Situated close to Parade Park. Right hand image represents an un utilised gm+ad masterplan.
Cost - £120 million / £87 million (Beatson Oncology Centre, Phase 2) / £8 million (Leukaemia Centre)
Location - 1051 Great Western Road
Status - Planned
Start date - 2009
Completion date - 2012 / 2007 (Beatson)
The expanded Gartnavel will take take on services currently provided by the Western, necessitating its closure. Rationalisation of the Gartnavel campus will free land for residential use. Upgrade will be piecemeal around the existing Gartnavel, incorporating Atkin's planned Beatson oncology clinical laboratories & leukaemia research fund centre with Ryder HKS's/Hypostyle's Beatson phase 2 and Reiach and Hall's Cancer Research centre.
The hospital will incorporate a Marie Curie Hospice, an inpatient mental health service for young people, a secure care centre and specialist services in cardiology, renal dialysis and gynaecology, both Victoria and Stobhill will incorporate impressive full height atriums. The scheme is costing £20 million more than originally envisaged and designs have been value engineereed.
Materials - Dark blue/gray brickwork, terracotta, patinised copper panels and render
Height - 3 floors
Area - 41,500sq/m
Status - U/C
Start date - Nov 2006 (Demolition Jan 2006)
Completion date - 2009
The hospital will deliver chemotherapy, renal dialysis and MRI scans with parking bays located beneath helping to accentuate the parkland setting. The ACAD unit will replace the existing Victoria Infirmary, with most services transferred to the new South Glasgow Hospital.
The annexe will house flexible teaching spaces and workshops for construction and engineering, learning resource space, dance and art studios, sports and fitness areas, catering facilities, and a 50 place nursery for staff and student childcare. In design the college employs similar usage of colour and drum signature feature to BDP's Motherwell College, being developed in tandem.
Glasgow University : Masterplan : Published 20/05/07
Cost - £10.5 million (The Hub), £4 million (Computing) & £20 million (Biomed)
Location - 18 Lilybank Gardens (Computing)
Status -
Start date -
Completion date - 2012
Glasgow University is seeking to capitalise on the opportunity created by clearance of the Western infirmary to reconnect kelvingrove park with the university campus and wider west end. The redeveloped Hub building will offer coffee bars, food court, bookstore and medical/dental practices. Lilybank Apartments & Artizan neighbour the Glasgow University estates.
This Brownfield site is to be sensitively developed within existing nature and topography with a series of external 'Garden Rooms', these flow into atrium spaces and link with the landscape.
Clydebank College now stands complete upon the former John Brown Shipyard. Custom specification has been achieved through close liaison with College staff whilst extensive landscaping works see the Clyde reconnected to town by a sequence of squares, streets and walkways.
Opinion
Close collaboration with end users has produced a College successful not only in efficient delivery of curriculum but in wider community engagement. Horizontal emphasis of teaching space encourages formation of new streetscape, perhaps compromised by ground level blockwork which falls below the standard attained in landscaping, but enlivened by bold feature atria delineating points of entry. Tenemental proportions foster a new urban context for the Titan Crane, re-engaging Clydebank with its forgotten docks and exposing the latent potential of river as tool for economic invigoration.
Materials - glazed enamel panneling, glass, timber and stone.
Floor space - 16,900sq/m
Cost - £30 million
Location - Springburn
Status - Approved
Start date - Sept 2006
Completion date - Early 2008
Internally College departments will be organised around a central atrium to draw natural light. The building will incorporate a Sports hall and conference facilities.
e4i a consortium of Miller, Cyril Sweett, Land Securities Trillium and FES has been selected as preferred bidder for Inverclyde schools public private partnership (PPP). The program will entail closure of existing dilapidated schools and nurseries for replacement by a new breed of campus style facilities each attempting a level of design not previously seen in public building. Together these proposals form part of the Prudential Schools project, Inverclyde's largest ever investment in education
A school for children with dual sensory impairment has won a Civic Trust award recognising pioneering work in adoption of tactile, auditory and visual distinction between class areas.
The school is conceived as a self contained garden enviroment of Lime and Beech trees enveloping the organic form of the teaching block as it flows freely across the contours of the land. This blurring of traditional indoor/outdoor boundaries allows sunlight to penetrate classrooms through specially designed screens contributing to an open, less intimidating learning environment. The building eliminates harsh angular forms for a soft sweeping crescent, by hugging the ground level the building is humanised, the stress of stairs and lifts are eliminated and teaching environments are brought closer to nature.
A design and build contract is to be signed for a purpose built teaching block, sports hall, music and drama building and nursery for Langside College. Public access to Mount Florida railway station is enhanced by new courtyards between buildings with existing structures demolished between construction phases. the site neighbours an under construction Victoria ACAD unit.
Opinion
An undoubted enhancement of accommodation and facility is tempered by a muted palette of yellow tiling that does not exhibit the playfulness of character evident in the superior Clydebank College. An apparent steel mesh screening device is employed presumably for privacy aka 236 Clyde St but doesn't aid the creation of a welcoming environment, nor does the build engage with the important Battlefield Rd being segregated by landscaping and surface parking whilst a spartan brick finish to ground floor levels does not invite entry. Sport and Arts halls to the rear are utilitarian in appearance with extensive blue render though helping to reflect light and colour are unlikely to age gracefully. Public spaces are more successful in opening the site up to pedestrain activity and increasing the attractiveness of Mount Florida Station.
From clockwise the Newbery tower, foulis building and library in addition to the Bourdon building are all set to be demolished as the School of art upgrades its campus. Charles Rennie Mackintosh's landmark school will be refurbished.
The New Campus Glasgow project will deliver a learning facility for the 50,000 students and 2,000 staff of Glasgow’s four specialist city centre colleges: College of Nautical Studies, Metropolitan College, Central College of Commerce and Stow College. The project will co-locate the four existing colleges to a shared campus over two sites – City Campus at Cathedral Street, home of Central and Metropolitan Colleges and Riverside Campus at Thistle Street, site of the Nautical College. The plan complements Strathclyde Universities "single campus" plan.
New practice, rehearsal rooms and office space will be housed within the new build extension complimenting a new conservatory entrance, box office and restaurant.
Materials - Textured, pigmented concrete (ground level), with layered grey, silver and gold aluminium above.
Location - Pollokshields Road/Albert Drive
Status -
Start date -
Completion date - July 2008
Visible workshops will be incorporated at street level with rehearsal studios situated on top of wardrobe and administration. Internally a double height internal courtyard will dominate, bathed in natural light.
Proposals to erect a treetop adventure course within Pollok Park have ellicited a boisterous reception from a section of local residents. The snappily titled Go Ape! having been apparently interpreted as a literal clarion call to action by protesters ironically subjecting the woods in question to the prophecied crowds and commotion with not a death slide in sight. Opposition crystalises around a core of protestor who perceives the proposal as a gross violation of the principle of public parkland and will brook no argument to the contrary. Subsequent justification for this stance revolves around secondary concerns pertaining to litter, traffic, crowds and commercialisation commonly associated with an enterprise of this type.
Countervailing argument adopts reversed perspective holding such "problems", if encountered, as symptomatic of the parks success against what is at present an underutilised resource, with Go Ape's founder at pains to stress these issues would be properly managed and addressed. But such flexibility is not reflected within an opposition where there remains fundamental disconnect and entrenched distrust. Bad publicity is no publicity and GO Ape! are presumably happy to ride out the stushie in anticipation of eager summer crowds of the bemused.
Culture and Sport services are being transferred from council control to a charitable company providing opportunity to plan for the long term and open alternative funding sources. Included within this is the proposed new transport museum which will form a link between the Clyde and city via a tunnel like shed which will be open at both ends rising from 16m height at the entrance to 24m at the Clyde. The river facing end will look onto a landscaped courtyard via an expansive glass facade. Exhibits will be connected along a path linking the "city" and "river" ends of the building, the main central space will be column free and served by natural light, support services and permanent exhibits are enclosed in the outer spaces. A ring of varying stone slabs will create a perimeter path sheltered by trees. Preceding Zaha's win were entries from Gareth Hoskinsand PRSA shown right.
Opinion
The much lauded Zaha Hadid's first foray into Glasgow does not impress, the glass frontage does take best advantage of a riverfront setting despite a lumpen entrance way and is the only point of view where the abstract roof profile takes effect. Although this doesn't mask what is a simple warehouse albeit highly specced and with GCC cost cutting it likely won't. Shaving a few million for hard pressed council tax payers is certainly laudible but in a scheme with an already over inflated budget you have to question whether starting again might represent better value as happened with the Tradeston Bridge.
Location - Cuningar Loop, between Dalmarnock and Rutherglen
Status - Vision
Start date -
Completion date - 2012
A zoological attraction looks set to return to Glasgow in spectacular fashion with construction of a 4 acre climate-controlled biodome east of the Commonwealth Games Village at the heart of the Clyde Gateway regeneration area. The structure will house a tropical habitat of rainforest and plant life populated by indigenous mammals and exotic birds. To achieve this feat the latest environmental control technology is utilised to fully customise light, temperature, humidity and shade providing capability to turn day into night. Conference suites will enjoy panoramic aspect across the jungle and visitors will be able to explore the environment along a series of paths and elevated walkways.
Materials - Dura Limestone with glass reinforced plastic
Location - Albert Dr
Status - Approved
Start date - April 2008
Completion date - October 2009
As native religion falls to the advance of rationality it might have been supposed that a fully secular society be a logical inevitability, but this is not universally so. A desire to cling to practices performed by prior generations has manifested itself as a slice of India transplanted in exactitude to Albert Drive. Idiosyncracies particular to this specific flavour of faith include construction of a "bedroom" in which the holy book might repose, trespass upon airspace above this dais is frowned upon necessitating an upper level prayer hall. Passers by oblivious to these esoteric rituals may nonetheless be given cause to glance skyward courtesy a giant orange hexagonal flagpole bearing the Sikh emblem alongside associated dome.
The historic Briggait is to be given a new lease of life with lottery money due to transform the former 19th century fish market into visual artists studios. These will be formed as lightweight timber structures constructed within the shell of the existing 1889 and 1904 halls. Simple raft foundations spread the loads and minimise differential settlements between new and old.
Health, Education & Culture
