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Chapman Taylor helm Braehead expansion

Chapman Taylor helm Braehead expansion

September 14 2017

Chapman Taylor Architects have devised proposals for an expansion of Braehead retail park by erecting three new retail units on land currently off kings Inch Drive currently utilized for surface parking.

Finished in composite metal cladding on a base of blue engineering brick the public entrances will be defined by curtain wall glazing. Public realm improvements will include feature paving of grey tone slabs to tie-in with existing retail and the grey retail sheds.

Explaining their approach the architects wrote: “In terms of the building massing and appearance the team took the view that the best way of responding was to acknowledge the precedents of large-scale buildings along the Clyde, to create a strong destination within the estate and to ensure high quality and well connected public realm to connect back to the existing offer.”

Braehead had been awarded ‘town centre status’ in order to leverage a promised £200m mixed use development including an arena and hotel but subsequently overruled by the courts.

12 Comments

#1 Posted by The Flâneur on 14 Sep 2017 at 12:19 PM

Gosh, I say, haven’t they put a tremendous amount of thought into that? I’ll be packing my shopping bags into my hummer and heading off ASAP for a shopping experience par excellence.

Scratch that - no I won’t.

Are you kidding me that the Scottish Government awarded Braehead… Braehead!!! Town centre status - which is shocking enough in itself (a car-oriented shopping centre + a leisure and entertainment centre + a supermarket and an Ikea + loads of surface level car parking roundabouts and dual carriageways in search of a stack ‘em and rack ‘em residential suburb to the west do not a convincing town centre make) - and having fought to achieve that status this is the best they can be bothered to do?

Heard of climate change and tackling obesogenic environments have we?

#2 Posted by Boxtroll on 14 Sep 2017 at 12:25 PM

I think this is one of those groundbreaking moments for retail parks...

'Public realm improvements will include feature paving of grey tone slabs to tie-in with existing retail and the grey retail sheds.'

#3 Posted by MoFloBro on 14 Sep 2017 at 16:09 PM

Surely the architects must be embarrassed when they see themselves quoted like that. I'm coming to the conclusion that there are no architects any more, just advertising men ready to spout p1$h whenever they're paid.
Also, I have to agree with #1 regarding town centre status. I say this as an SNP voter.

#4 Posted by Graeme McCormick on 14 Sep 2017 at 17:44 PM

I'm tempted to say: bring back the power station

#5 Posted by Daniel on 15 Sep 2017 at 09:54 AM

Braehead getting a town centre status is actually really, really bad, because it upends the sequential tests for retail that is supposed to avoid developments like this.

Depressing :'(

#6 Posted by willothewisp on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:57 AM

Firmness - check. Commodity - check. Delight - check. Yes, all absent.

#7 Posted by CADMonkey on 15 Sep 2017 at 11:17 AM

"That looks grand. Well done lads. Who's turn is it to bet the bacon rolls. Brown sauce on mine please."

#8 Posted by Billy on 15 Sep 2017 at 11:43 AM

Bad news for Paisley. Soon it will be a surburb of the dire Braehead . Paisley town centre will never recover with this hell hole on its doorstep. Has to be the most boring shopping centre in U.K. That and the wind tunnel The Fort and Cumbernauld. Give me Silverburn any day or even better the City centre. Next Braehead will try for city status and U.K. City of Culture! Maybe even Independence. Who knows?

#9 Posted by Fake News on 15 Sep 2017 at 12:25 PM

@UR eds - Braehead does not have Town Centre Status. See the adopted strategic plan for confirmation:

https://www.clydeplan-sdpa.gov.uk/images/ApprovedPlanHighRes.pdf

and Court of Session for context:

https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/search-judgments/judgment?id=b316eda6-8980-69d2-b500-ff0000d74aa7

#10 Posted by Pleasantfield on 15 Sep 2017 at 12:32 PM

I am wondering just what gets taught now in architecture schools. It is what it is and the speil of nonsense given to describe this simply adds to the embarassment.