March 10 2023

Peveril Securities and PMI Developments have held a second public consultation on plans to erect a landmark aparthotel on the corner of Cambridge Street and Renfrew Street in Glasgow city centre.

The existing site at 19-21 Cambridge Street, home to a vacant department store, will be swept aside in favour of a dramatic 14-floor tower.

Hitting the street with an active frontage of a reception, lounge and bar the remainder of the ground floor will host stores, a laundry and staff offices. Upper levels will each host a mixture of studios and one-bedroom guest apartments

In a consultation statement, Haus Collective wrote: "Typical mid-levels introduce the horizontal setback to celebrate key datums established by the context, creating depth in the façade and introducing a variety of studio and 1-bed guestroom types.

"At upper levels, the proposal is eroded to the south and west, carving the massing in response to neighbouring context. This also enhances the ability to fully activate elevations at height, providing guestrooms with views across the Glasgow skyline."

Interested parties have until 22 March to inform the design development. 

9 Comments

#1 Posted by pooka on 10 Mar 2023 at 12:55 PM

are we moving the dental hospital further up sauchiehall

#2 Posted by Roddy_ on 10 Mar 2023 at 13:52 PM

God, how dreich and dreary.

I wonder if Glasgow designers need some joy therapy? Seems to be following the conveyor belt of loveless point blocks the city has made its recent stock in trade.

And weirdly bears more resemblance to the adjacent Doubletree than anythings else.

#3 Posted by DJ on 10 Mar 2023 at 16:01 PM

Yuck, however, i suppose the design is honest in acknowledging it should really have a set back, except they couldn't be bothered and so we get this weird belly band which isn't fooling anybody.

#4 Posted by Sue Pearman on 10 Mar 2023 at 16:30 PM

I can't really see any justification for any kind of tower here. Are they suggesting that because it's next to Fleming House, which is was a 60's era error, that this means another overscaled mass will be ok? It's on the approach to the art school too.

#5 Posted by town planner on 10 Mar 2023 at 18:28 PM

Disagree #4 I have no issue with the height, but design could certainly be better.

#6 Posted by James Hepburn on 12 Mar 2023 at 13:28 PM

And the statement is 'God that's ugly.' Why are Scottish architects so bloody awful?

#7 Posted by John Craven on 14 Mar 2023 at 10:42 AM

The tower would certainly be better moved into the centre of the block where it will have less impact on the street, maintaining the established facade height and minimising overshadowing. One might question as to whether it is suitable at all from an urban design point of view and not just a developer overmilking the cow.

#8 Posted by tam on 31 May 2023 at 13:36 PM

@Sue Pearman

I don't really understand this idea that a tower is some kind of detriment to the city centre that needs to be 'justified'. My experience of talking to people from other parts of the UK is that they're often struck by the lack of height in Glasgow city centre, and this can create the impression that Glasgow is a smaller city than it actually is.

But if I were to justify it, surely the fact that there are a few buildings of similar height a stone's throw away is indeed relevant. Its' not a departure from any real existing character.

The NIMBY-ism about it being *visible* from Garnethill (it's not even in Garnethill, in terms of the blocks of tenements that could be argued to be of a consistent architectural style) is of course absurd given that it'll form part of a street already full of similar buildings.

There's a real knee-jerk hostility to change in Glasgow. The 'but why should it be tall?' attitude is part of this. Why should it not be tall? Why would be want a hotel in the city centre to be *smaller* than it could be? What purpose would that serve?

#9 Posted by Carbon king on 4 Jul 2023 at 13:11 PM

In terms of carbon like most established Cities we have, as a society, overly invested in carbon terms in our city centres through infrastructure, transport hubs, amenities, hospitality, venues, hospitals etc. In order to maximise this historical investment, we need to help re -populate the city centre, this requires us to push the height in the city centre to get more people into the city, to drive up footfall and then ultimately retail, restaurants etc.
Building low rise simply means we need more plots, expanding the city as a whole and eventually leading to the removal of green belt.
Height, in the correct location is the right idea and Glasgow needs density. Homes, schools, hotels people.

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