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Drum Property up materials spec at consented Finnieston build

February 16 2017

Drum Property up materials spec at consented Finnieston build
Drum Property Group have tabled revised proposals for 189 flats at Minerva Street, Finnieston, after deciding that the design and materials specified in a previously consented scheme by Progressive Residential could be ‘improved and bettered to the overall benefit of the scheme’.

Drum Property initiated a review after purchasing Progressive last summer, instructing DarntonB3 Architectture to up the material-spec and design ambition displayed in an earlier design iteration.

In practice this will see natural limestone and ceramic cladding used in place of the approved buff brick and aluminium rainscreen, with steel and glass balconies added to the exterior elevations.

A submission letter prepared by Zander Planning read: “The applicants took ownership of the site in summer 2016 and immediately instructed an extensive design review of the proposal as consented. The new owners considered that the design, appearance and materials could be improved and bettered to the overall benefit of the scheme.

“The design team have been engaged in this exercise over the last six months that included the appointment of 3rd architects to independently review the proposals.”

As before the scheme will effectively enclose an urban block on either side of a twin railway tunnels below with car parking above.

11 Comments

Chipple
#1 Posted by Chipple on 16 Feb 2017 at 13:06 PM
Why are architects not seeking design inspiration from successful projects in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. There is no need for such a mix of materials. The protrusions are ugly and out of character with the fabric of the West End.
the Punmeister General
#2 Posted by the Punmeister General on 16 Feb 2017 at 13:33 PM
Drumming Up Interest
wonky
#3 Posted by wonky on 16 Feb 2017 at 14:10 PM
All this whooey & nonsense about Netherlands & other foreign climes- where people eat silly food- for architectural inspiration, is just vapid tosh. Big finance is our muse. Look to the Thames Valley, Basingstoke or Slough business parks for inspiration. Post Brexit, who needs foreigners? The British way is the only way. British is best: the UK leads the way in utilitarian provincial architecture...let us export it to the world!
George
#4 Posted by George on 16 Feb 2017 at 17:29 PM
This is encouraging! Having complained about the abundance of new builds that are finished with terrible white render, it is great to see someone actually caring about the finished materials.
aesthete
#5 Posted by aesthete on 16 Feb 2017 at 18:42 PM
What's the deal with the aquarium on the corner top? Chippie - that overenthusiastic approach to architecture is now swallowing West End and in the next couple of year will be dominating it. It's Glasgow after all - mother of all low standards, where no two buildings standing to each other built after 1900 are the same or correspond with each other. Just do the steel work, cram as much heads as you could inside and cash the paycheck. Done, move to another plot, repeat. The uplifting copy about new investment is mandatory - bull*ers have to live too :)
Richard Bush
#6 Posted by Richard Bush on 17 Feb 2017 at 09:13 AM
I am pleased that someone stopped following the crazy idea that 'bad miss' buff brick is somehow equivalent to sandstone - the texture is all wrong and the mortar lines are fussy and disruptive. Good that someone with a substantial site has had the self confidence to be bold yet conventional with materials. However, Minerva Street can be intimidating through lack of pedestrian presence,especially at night. Whilst a windows / balconies will help, the design needs many more doors onto Minerva Street/ Way from flats and stairwells to increase the public footfall to give more Street life,encourage people to walk rather than drive as in traditional tenement areas. On-street parking would be acceptable here given the street width and need to discourage through traffic.
Richard Bush
#7 Posted by Richard Bush on 17 Feb 2017 at 09:20 AM
Corncernrf that balconies become external storage areas, especially where unlikely to be used for amenity due to lack on sun or noise from Expressway.
Need for defensible space formed by matching boudary walls with railings at back of footways.
Alistair Firth
#8 Posted by Alistair Firth on 17 Feb 2017 at 12:01 PM
Yeah..balconies...just what every flat needs in Glasgow. Especially the north facing ones, where the owners can look over to st Vincent crescent and observe architecture at its best, and contemplate the money they've wasted on living in another unnecessary new build in Finnieston.
By the way, maybe get someone to proof read your article...funny that you can't spell "architecture" correctly in the second paragraph
David
#9 Posted by David on 17 Feb 2017 at 14:59 PM
To be fair, I can actually only see 2 balconies on the north facade, and I'm not sure what makes residential new-build unnecessary, given that a) they sell, and b) there's a housing shortage.

I still think the elevations are mince though, albeit a huge improvement on the first efforts. Chaotic window arrangements and too many materials, really confused styles that seem to change floor by floor. The ground floor corner flat 'goldfish bowl' living room simply highlights the fact that the building is far too close to the street edge on Minerva Way.
Richard Bush
#10 Posted by Richard Bush on 17 Feb 2017 at 21:41 PM
Corncernrf that balconies become external storage areas, especially where unlikely to be used for amenity due to lack on sun or noise from Expressway.
Need for defensible space formed by matching boudary walls with railings at back of footways.
E=mc2
#11 Posted by E=mc2 on 20 Feb 2017 at 01:01 AM
Oh dear god. how many awful tropes and wilful bits can they add. Even seems to be from a real practice too

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