Enlarged public square to command St Enoch East masterplan
September 26 2024
Vengada Estates, Stallan-Brand Architects and OOBE have developed a revised masterplan for a large surface car park east of Glasgow's St Enoch Centre.
Extending from Stockwell to King Street, the land is earmarked for apartments for sale, rent co-living and student accommodation. Commercial spaces, notably offices, a hotel, a hostel and leisure units are also proposed.
Superceding a previously consented scheme the updated Merchant Quarter vision incorporates a broader range of tenure types and an updated public realm, centred on a new public square framing The Briggait.
In a statement outlining the latest thinking the applicant wrote: "The emerging proposals deliver an improved shape and size of public space to the south of the site and changes to building heights toward the south of the site.
"A broader mix of residential uses is also included within the revised masterplan allowing for the delivery of a rich mix of residential models."
The development will follow the template set out in the consented plan with taller buildings defining key corners with strengthened street edges promoting connectivity.
A new planning application is expected in December.
13 Comments
Why not attempt to rebut the criticism? Are you unwilling - or perhaps- as I suspect unable to do so. Maybe you think this is great design. Please tell us why.
Big / bulky / banal -- those are its good traits.
Everything else is honking -- filler is needed but this middle class stack-a-pleb nonsense by a quick bodge it and scarper developer vibe that has let us down before.
Finally Transport 1400 / peasant spec car provision means there will be no children -- Pied Piper not required.
Great for any car park owners in the near vicinity but not for balanced neighbourhoods. E/house is a gem compared to this.
Where does he find the time
"... rebut the criticism? Are you unwilling - or perhaps - as I suspect unable to do so" - LOL
Forget about single aspect flats and long corridors, how on earth do they manage to fill the whole block and have no amenity space whatsoever?
Hint- you won't need amenity space if you're inside the matrix.
In short we need to stop doing this kind of stuff very soon otherwise we deserve our own fate.
If you think that's okay then you are entitled to your opinion of course.
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I think the designers need to re-establish the joy of creating roof elements rather than seeing them as lids on their shoe-boxes, destined only as space for roof-mounted plant. Note how some are kind of articulated and other not.
Like the E&C masterplan at Sighthill, this is another one of those moments where architects are are better at architecture than urban design. We either have blocks (which are really island plots) or we have blocks that are sieve-lilke and permeable. The plot footprints look very deep - a classic sign that theres going to be a lot of single aspect accommodation served by long corridors and one wonders what is driving the seemingly random tower heights.
If it's publicly accessible , it will be a POPs and the same will be true of the connecting lane and interstitial spaces.
Just a starter for 10 of q's for the consultation.