Work begins on Dowanhill apartment scheme
August 21 2013
Penned by Street Design Partnership the Observatory bookends a B listed terrace within the Glasgow West Conservation Area and is designed to extend the building line and provide a focal point to the end of Hyndland Road.
Rooftop garden spaces and private balconies compensate for drive under parking and access provision to the rear with the scheme adopting a contemporary approach with a simple palette of natural stone and grey terracotta.
In their design statement the architects state: “As the footprint of the building sets back from the street, the height is increased by an additional storey to respond to the corner and to create a
feature element to terminate the dominant building line. This also creates the strong visual focus required at the end of Hydland Road.
“Overall, the proposed building represents a significant improvement to the vacant, overgrown site that currently exists and the carefully considered building, having been designed with specific attention to how it respects its context, will enhance the character and appearance of the adjacent Conservation Area.”
A buff sandstone has been specified to marry with neighbouring period properties
A mix of communal and private rooftop terraces boast expansive views
|
4 Comments
#1 Posted by brian on 21 Aug 2013 at 16:15 PM
The roof part,Its Glasgow,Scotland! Rain rain rain rain and more rain:)
#2 Posted by Local on 22 Aug 2013 at 09:47 AM
At least its next to 'The Rock' which despite having a friendly atmosphere on occasions is a stinker of a building. This is likewise a blot on the landscape, architecture that pays lip service to its context with mismatched proportion and scale.
The archi-speak design statement might as well say we maximised the footprint and height to squeeze as much cash from this plot as possible and tacked a couple of square bay windows and made an attempt to address the corner by having one of those 'oriel' windows you west end glasgow folk have on those old buildings.
The only benefit to the surroundings is artificially driving up property prices allowing anyone offended enough by the sight of the thing to sell up and get away.
Rant over, I look forward to watching it go up to much fanfare selling to 'investors' and footballer wife wannabees before the weather takes the sheen off it and they realise they have bought an overpriced worthless box, with access to a roof terrace ofcourse.
The archi-speak design statement might as well say we maximised the footprint and height to squeeze as much cash from this plot as possible and tacked a couple of square bay windows and made an attempt to address the corner by having one of those 'oriel' windows you west end glasgow folk have on those old buildings.
The only benefit to the surroundings is artificially driving up property prices allowing anyone offended enough by the sight of the thing to sell up and get away.
Rant over, I look forward to watching it go up to much fanfare selling to 'investors' and footballer wife wannabees before the weather takes the sheen off it and they realise they have bought an overpriced worthless box, with access to a roof terrace ofcourse.
#3 Posted by Sven on 22 Aug 2013 at 13:08 PM
I do not mind the design itself, but it does not fit in within an area of sandstone buildings. The rooftop space is not going to do well in Glasgow apart from a few lucky nights in high summer and flat roofs have a tendency to fail.
"overall, the proposed building represents a significant improvement to the vacant, overgrown site that currently exists''
Actually the 'overgrown site' is hardly a gap, there are green spaces all aaround it at Hyndland Road and directly behind it to Crown road/terr.
"overall, the proposed building represents a significant improvement to the vacant, overgrown site that currently exists''
Actually the 'overgrown site' is hardly a gap, there are green spaces all aaround it at Hyndland Road and directly behind it to Crown road/terr.
#4 Posted by David Graham on 22 Aug 2013 at 16:28 PM
Oh come on folks, yes Glasgow doesn't have a Mediterranean climate but around half of the year consists of days without rain. Said roof terraces and balconies would have definitely been put to good use this summer. I would certainly welcome a trend for balconies and terraces in new build developments, not only would they add some character and provide desired outdoor space but also create a better relationship with the public realm, as opposed to the usual dreadful 800x800mm upvc windows that residential developers seem to be so fond of.
Post your comments
Read previous: Edinburgh Airport invests in £25m terminal expansion
Back to August 2013
Like us on Facebook
Become a fan and share
News Archive
Search News
Features & Reports
For more information from the industry visit our Features & Reports section.