The Finnieston Road Bridge crosses the Clyde between here and Lancefield Quay. A 1989 James Cunning Young and Partners proposal for Bellway Homes envisioned a continuous sequence of prow profiled buildings. Courtesy of the 1990-92 recession this plan was not fully enacted displaced by cheap and uncheerful suburbia at Mavisbank Gardens.
The 90,000 sq/ft Sportsplex from Miller Partnership would have incorporated 120 flats, training gym, aerobics studio, 25m swimming pool and basketball court. The equivalently scaled mixed use Cuprum is now under construction to the west.
Materials - zinc, stainless steel, blue brickwork, terracotta tiling, wood and sandstone
Usage - Residential
Height - 12 floors
Total flats - 201
Cost - £18 million
Location - Robertson/Oswald street
Start date - Feb 2005
Completion date - Winter 2006
This large residential scheme should inject some after hours life into the, largely, dead Broomielaw. Hopefully discourage the prostitution problem too. Two residents courtyards are incorporated with gated access above underground parking. A failed Premier Property Group design is shown courtesy CGI Media.
Materials - Render, natural stone and glazed blue terracotta
Location - High street
Start date -
Completion date - Oct 2005
A stone Gargoyle originating from the original University buildings on site has been incorporated to the front facade. G1 can be found across the street and a residential is planned for the airspace over McChuillis pub, visible at the end of the street. Victoria Hall was also completed by UNITE.
Materials - Natural stone, copper and stainless steel
Location - Ingram Street
Completion date - Feb 2006
Situated opposite the Sheriff Courts redevelopment and up from The Palazzo. The building seen U/C at the bottom of Ingram Street is Blackfriars student accommodation.
From the same team and developed in tandem with, College Heights. Glasgow Cross station will be situated to the rear of the adjacent Mercat building. An above average build diminished by an exceptional setting and an abrupt corner termination that's crying out for an indented curve.
G1 forms the corner plot of a new City Science Park. Blackfriars is rising behind the photographer. Original white colour scheme is shown for comparison.
The Palazzo (adjacent to the Sheriff Courts) is now nearing external completion.
Opinion
Stripped paintwork has revealed the full splendour of underlying stone on a retained facade at Ingram St, greatly enhancing the Merchant City townscape. A clear attempt has been made to marry new and retained elements by use of common material and floor levels but shorn of all embellishment these are at best pale imitation and certainly less successful than the nearby McIntyre and Hogg Building. It remains to be seen if a glazed corner elevation will provide interest but bolder use of height and design could have lifted The Palazzo beyond the ordinary.
Materials - Buff, cream and red brick and silver/gray metal
Height - 8 floors
Total Homes - 77
Cost -
Location - 9A Victoria Road
Completion date - Spring 2008
The unlisted facade of The Plaza dance hall is presently being reconstructed to serve as showpiece entrance to the block of flats now bearing its name.
Opinion
A blank mass of unattractive brick and gun metal cladding overwhelms the viewer, displaying an absence of the gaiety and artistry of which any genuine attempt to build on history would have attempted and worryingly continues a run of poor form from Southplace originating with Mizu. Retention of the facade is a token gesture that does not absolve architect or developer of design responsibilities.
Location - 31 St Andrew's Street/24 James Morrison Street
Start date - Feb 2006
Completion date -
This development at St Andrews Square comprises two seperate builds. The first a U shaped new build apartment block fronting the historic church, the second an old warehouse which is to be refaced in stone and converted to provide a mix of shops, apartments and offices which in a display of faith will be let to the schemes architect.
Opinion
A predominant brick finish on the new build property is excused on grounds of pre-existing use on a tenement opposite but results in a finish that is out of sorts with the square. Indeed it seems odd that an architectural cue should be taken from the language of a neighbouring tenement whilst turning a back to the square that bears the developments name.
A mandatory stone sheath dresses a cleverly proportioned piece of infill. Irregular depth of facade and a stepped summit combine to create the illusion of set back on a standard block build, a satisfying allusion to deco. Significant datums are observed along stone cornice lines. The adjacent Trades Hall meanwhile has had ground floor retail installed with a new reception room and a ‘crush’ space in the basement by Archial.
The former Creme de la creme restaurant has been redeveloped with flats realising the site's latent economic potential in similar fashion to Cafe India.
Opinion
A dramatic wedge of limestone now fills a longstanding void in the streetscape bringing with it a dash of design flair to an avenue of down at heel tenements.
A development of apartments, townhouses and one bespoke villa on a brownfield site close to Hogganfield Loch.
Opinion
As a peripheral scheme attempting good design Loch Side View warrants attention, though modest in scale the ambition shown is of an order of magnitude greater than the dispiriting agglomeration of corporation housing and executive homes that lie along Cumbernauld Road.
Completed Residentials
