March 7 2025

BDP has vacated its longstanding Glasgow base at Royal Exchange Square for a new home a short walk away at Alexander 'Greek' Thomson's Grosvenor Building.

Boasting a high footfall location directly in front of Glasgow Central Station at 72 Gordon Street the new studio marries a raw concrete interior on the second floor of the A-listed Classical landmark.

Scott Mackenzie, principal and head of the Glasgow studio at BDP, said: “The Grosvenor Building offers a unique opportunity to bring our Glasgow team together in a space that reflects our creative identity.  We have transformed the second floor into a bright, open, and sustainable studio that respects the building’s heritage while providing a modern environment for collaboration and design. It is a privilege to occupy such a historically significant space and contribute to the ongoing legacy of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s architecture in Glasgow.”

Interior design undertaken by BDP includes an exposed structural soffit ceiling to maximise ambient light from a central stairwell with timber, linoleum, and living plants for the biophilic-inspired fit-out. 

13 Comments

#1 Posted by Badly Disappointing Preservation on 7 Mar 2025 at 11:58 AM

'We have transformed the second floor into a bright, open, and sustainable studio that respects the building’s heritage'

The cognitive dissonance in that statement is truly astounding. Thompson's interiors are awash with colour, texture, iconography, life, and craft. His interiors are unmistakably his own, but what's presented here is desperately generic. It completely lacks the sense of time or place that Thompson's interiors elicit. If anything it is an act of unabashed disrespect to take on a building by one of Glasgow's greatest scions and reduce it to this.

#2 Posted by Bob Smith on 7 Mar 2025 at 13:21 PM

i think it looks very smart.
Well done BDP

#3 Posted by Nico on 7 Mar 2025 at 14:09 PM

It looks really good. Bravo to all involved.

#4 Posted by Philip on 7 Mar 2025 at 14:40 PM

I'm sure the staff and clients love it, but I totally agree with #1
Impossible to tell if in AGT building..or any other period building. Generic corporate 'workplace design' that could be anywhere.

#5 Posted by Mike on 7 Mar 2025 at 16:09 PM

Stunning exterior, smart interior

#6 Posted by Ron on 8 Mar 2025 at 08:01 AM

Wonderful, a real statement of intention.
Well done to everyone involved

#7 Posted by Maboza Ritchie on 10 Mar 2025 at 05:00 AM

Wouldn’t want to be working late night and leaving the office after 12 in that location to be honest. It’s become a bit ‘sketchy’.

#8 Posted by Neil McAllister on 10 Mar 2025 at 11:58 AM

#1 - This was a warehouse, so would never have had the sort of interior you suggest (or maybe some small elements in stairs, offices, etc.).

#9 Posted by Badly Disappointing Preservation on 10 Mar 2025 at 14:12 PM

#8 Please see the article below which includes descriptions and a photo of this very building. The interiors were not as bare as you suggest.

Furthermore, surviving drawings of the Cairney building - another, sadly lost, warehouse designed by Thompson - show a similar care and richness inside.

https://greatglasgowarchitecture.com/2015/05/12/33034-grosvenor-building/

#10 Posted by Lovely on 12 Mar 2025 at 16:22 PM

Not bad for a facade retention project, but the interiors are a little bit anodyne to say the least.

#11 Posted by Alex Mackay on 12 Mar 2025 at 16:51 PM

Looks great, and I was pleased to play a small part in helping them acquire this space. Seeing the enthusiasm of the team behind the design for the building and its history was lifting. This part of Glasgow is great, being across from the station but unfortunately is regularly forgotten due to its (unsubstantiated) "dangerous" reputation. Really??!! Its got the highest police presence and most CCTV of any street in Glasgow. Lets take a bit more pride in our city centre rather than roughshod comments from some who probably never venture into it.

#12 Posted by Matt on 16 Mar 2025 at 09:14 AM

Lets be honest...'Workspace design' normal completely ignores the building its in. It's all about branding, buzz words and break-out..with a visual shelf life of weeks/months. This already looks out of date.
Its not cool, it's not sustainable and has zero integrity.
Total corporate shizzle.

#13 Posted by Lovely on 16 Mar 2025 at 20:21 PM

Matt's nailed it rather nicely.

Post your comments