Scottish Opera expansion to ensure Speirs Wharf hits all the right notes
October 25 2023
Scottish Opera is performing a leading role in the transformation of Speirs Wharf with tentative plans for a mixed-use development flanking its production studios at Erdington Street.
A public consultation launched by the performing arts company gives a roadmap for relocating its head office from Charing Cross to a new HQ, education and outreach hub with adaptable performance spaces that double as a recording studio.
Working alongside Page/Park and HarrisonStevens, the project team will open up the current warehouse with feature stepped access from Corn Street to the Forth & Clyde Canal, while earmarking surrounding land for development.
Collectively termed New Rotterdam Wharf this would see Scottish Opera establish an active frontage to Speirs Wharf with their new facilities, flanked by two wedge-shaped student blocks to minimise massing when viewed east to west.
In a consultation statement, Scottish Opera explained: "The development strategy that has evolved for the site is to place the proposed new Scottish Opera rehearsal and support building between the existing Edington Street production studios and the canal towpath. A core circulation route through this new building will link a new canal-side entrance down into the existing production studio and to the existing entrance on Edington Street.
"To the north and south, two student accommodation blocks (PBSA) are proposed, with stepping scales, effectively ‘book ending’ the site and providing activated frontages to all four corners of the plot. Pended access under each PBSA block provides access to two internal courtyards providing service and visitor access to the Scottish Opera building."
Construction is expected to get underway by early 2025.
Two pedestrian bridges will connect an accessible roof garden to the canal towpath
Wasteground will be built out to form a new creative hub
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15 Comments
Separately, a planning application was rejected to replace the dive that is the former Finnieston Cop Shop. It was rejected (twice) based on over development. Ironic, yet at the same time you're probably supposed to have the midspan of a goldfish but this site was home to a four-storey tenement prior to being removed for the hovel that sits there now.
Not sure what Glasgow Council planners are all about to be fair.
Completely misses the point about the canal corridor and proper activation of its southern edge. Note also that the consultation material assiduously avoids calling the 'book ends' tower blocks - which , lets face it, is what they are.
It will be worth keeping an eye on this one given the adjacent site's planning history and the refusal of Stallan Brand's overscaled and unresponsive towers.The developers are trying it on a bit here- and who could blame them given the capricious nature of the Planning Committee - you can almost hear the conversation about 'what can we get away with in terms of height here'.
Like much of the development coming forward in the city, it falls far short of the kind of granular urbanism of human scale that places like this are crying out for. We simply won't get that with large, single institution buildings (think of the big long blank facades of the RCS) and out-of-scale tower blocks.
Proper, coded masterplans are needed to underpin development or we get this laissez faire mess that has occured over the last 20 years. The potential here could be enormous if properly realised.
Little of the development seems focused on increased facilities for the Opera mob so it must be commercial project to generate some cash.
As noted by others if this goes through the the BTR mob with the site next door will be back in the hunt and hopefully the whole area takes a step forward.
My thoughts are that both will be built before the M8 gets fixed -- Transport 1400 are giving it they have got with the Woodside viaduct repair job.
Active frontages -- on a canal tow path?
Lets get Balmore Road up and running first.
The area is a sleepy corner desperately needing some life -- its industrial legacy has excluded residential development across the ages and it is a people desert at the moment.
Consequently every little helps to get the area active outside of office hours.
Plus it might re-awaken Cowcaddens from its 60 year slumber.
File under progress of a sort.
Pop to shops,purchase Bacofoil. Fashion into hat.
PS , the active frontage on the Spiers Wharf side works just fine albeit a bit car dominated.I recommend thinking first - you word salads will become less tedious for the other readers. Words to live by.
Maybe you could educate me on the iconic skyline bursting full of cherished landmarks please. I'm a life long learning fan.
How about Park Circus , Gilmorehill and Necropolis for starters. And they all join up in the amazing view from Queens Park. This is to say nothing of the innumerable points de vues in the city centre that are created by cherished landmarks.
Worth noting also that the view to Spiers Wharf has been an icon of the city's regeneration ever since, well, its regeneration in the 1980's. It could so easily have gone the way of countless other fine industrial buildings of its time. I think 'cherished' could easily apply.
Lots to see if you open both eyes and mind.
Iconic would be the likes of Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat, the Eiffell Tower, NY skyscapers, etc that anyone in the world could pick out. Most weegies would probably struggle to pick out the places you mentioned.
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