September 13 2022

A smoked glass office block at 150 St Vincent Street is in line for a dramatic overhaul at the hands of Sheppard Robson and LDA Design to better complement the surrounding conservation area.

Dating from 1976 the unlisted structure will be subject to a programme of demolition and extension to maximise available floorspace on behalf of its owners, Clearbell Property Partners, who emphasise the green credentials of their zero ntolerance approach to waste.

The net zero carbon build will see the current structure stripped back to the frame and built out to provide 151,000sq/ft of space targetting a BREEAM outstanding rating.

A painstaking deconstruction process will see thermally inefficient granite cladding removed for re-use elsewhere within the building alongside internal finishes. Removal of a northern wing will permit service cores to be repositioned to maximise floorspace, opening a void space to the rear for infill development.

In a statement, the applicant wrote: "The vertical emphasis, rhythms and proportions of the original building will be retained and extended.

"The proposed scheme will see a crafted facade that reflects the existing buildings design intent but created with materials and details that identify the building as unique and innovative."

Profiled ceramic cladding has been chosen in reference to the central conservation area, introducing depth and shadows to vertical elements of the elevations. Where the building footprint is extended a lightweight anodised metal delineates old and new.  

6 Comments

#1 Posted by D to the R on 14 Sep 2022 at 13:20 PM

Good for them ... interesting one to watch. Major refurb which I assume will be retained as commercial office space. Who are the rest of the team UR?

#2 Posted by UR on 14 Sep 2022 at 13:31 PM

Here's the design team in full:

Developer: Clearbell Capital
Acousticians: Sandy Brown
Structural & civil engineer: Woolgar Hunter
Planning & heritage consultancy: Iceni
Cost consultant: Thomas & Adamson
Surveyors: EPCA
MEP engineer: Atelier Ten
Landscape Architect: LDA Design
Fire consultant: OFR
Architect: Sheppard Robson

#3 Posted by Roddy_ on 14 Sep 2022 at 15:49 PM

The scale of the old Scottish Amicable building is spot on- deferring to the Salmon's Hatrack and its extraordinary roof. This, I'm afraid,does not and the visualisation looking up St Vincent Street plays the game of fading out the topmost level of the new proposal in order to attempt to minimise its obstrusive nature.
The city and council need to think very hard about whether we should actually have a Central Conservation Area or not. It seems to be largely ignored.

#4 Posted by town planner on 14 Sep 2022 at 21:50 PM

This looks fine to me Roddy. The taller part of the building has as its neighbours facing it, two nine story buildings and one ten story building. It reduces in height next to the Hatrack building.

#5 Posted by Gandalf the Grey on 16 Sep 2022 at 12:53 PM

If we ignore the fact that the old Scottish Amicable building is probably the best thing of its era in the centre of Glasgow, whether ceramic cladding is really the best way to 'defer' to the conservation area, and the impressive amount of greenwash, the images look pretty good.

#6 Posted by Roddy_ on 16 Sep 2022 at 13:47 PM

@#5
Ceramic cladding certainly has its precedents in the Central Consrvation Area though one suspects the result won't be as good as this:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8610032,-4.2525693,3a,75y,35.49h,118.38t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqtkl3S6dsxKHZBUWMJErVA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3Dqtkl3S6dsxKHZBUWMJErVA%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D306.72824%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-GB

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