April 27 2023

New plans to redevelop a problematic townhouse as serviced apartments have been filed, including the conversion and change of use of a neighbouring building.

A seven-storey new build corner block at 139-141 West Regent Street in Glasgow City Centre will house 41 flats, including a ground-floor restaurant and a rooftop bar. 29 additional apartments will be housed in the retained building.

Grant Murray Architects have overhauled initial proposals by Ark Architecture + Design to include the provision of enhanced amenities including a gym, outdoor terrace and lounges.

The difficult site is constrained by the Queen Street railway tunnel and a townhouse considered to be beyond economic repair.

7 Comments

#1 Posted by pooka on 27 Apr 2023 at 14:00 PM

definitely doesn't need simplification at all

#2 Posted by The mighty beige stump on 27 Apr 2023 at 14:39 PM

It's an improvement over the previous proposal; materiality seems nice, as is the rustication up to level 04 which smooths the transition between historic and new, and I appreciate the allusions to the neighboring building's ledge heights - those apartments will be much nicer than the 2.4m ftf previously proposed.
That said, surely the half hearted setback at level 05 and the considerable overhang on West Campbell Street should telegraph to the architect and developer that the proposal is out of scale with the street. Sadly, GCC seem to lack the will to stand in the way of this type of over development.

#3 Posted by Sue Pearman on 27 Apr 2023 at 15:03 PM

The GMAD designed office building on the next block along shows how this type of development can be done elegantly simply I think.

#4 Posted by Peter on 28 Apr 2023 at 08:57 AM

Awesome. I'd take the third one from the top on image 3. The view of the chimney must be amazing. never mind the fresh air. Fits like a glove with the surrounding carbuncles.

#5 Posted by 7yrsatuni on 28 Apr 2023 at 10:03 AM

Very smart indeed

#6 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 28 Apr 2023 at 11:28 AM

Too big / too bulky -- the new overwhelms the retained portion to the point of invisibility.

The stepped facade on West Campbell Street is very clumsy -- lacking proper definition at the corner and delivering an unbalanced look overall.

Consequently needs reworked to offer some design clarity to its location.

File under "bit of a dog".

#7 Posted by "El" on 28 Apr 2023 at 12:53 PM

Windows on a historic boundary ok, because the adjacent building has now been incorporated within the scheme? Very strange.

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