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CDA join Richard Murphy on Candleriggs Quarter design team

January 11 2017

CDA join Richard Murphy on Candleriggs Quarter design team
Comprehensive Design Architects have joined Richard Murphy Architects in the delivery of a significant urban regeneration project in Glasgow’s Merchant City to bring forward delivery of a new city block.

The practices involvement comes following submission of a revised application for the consented scheme, after the acquisition of two additional parcels of land, enabling a continuous frontage to be created along both Trongate and Candleriggs.

As before a listed façade at 140-144 Trongate will be retained, with repairs made to the façade, windows and ironwork, with additional infill allowing an extra 63 private rented sector homes, four student rooms and extra ground floor retail space to be added to the mixed use scheme.

In a statement Richard Murphy Architects said: “We remain involved as executive architect and are dealing with the current and any future planning processes and are still fully involved in the strategic design. CDA are acting as delivery architect and we are working collaboratively to help our clients in achieving this ambitious project within suitable timescales.”

Candleriggs Quarter will encompass the near entirety of an urban block bounded by Hutcheson Street, Trongate, Candleriggs and Wilson Street with a façade of façade of precast concrete/reconstituted stone panels and solid timber doors below a metal clad steel frame and aluminium mesh panels.

The scheme will now deliver a total of 132 apartments for sale, 435 flats for private rent, a 124 bed hotel, 586 rooms of student accommodation and 750sq/m of retail space.
Test drilling is currently underway on-site
Test drilling is currently underway on-site
The bulk of the scheme remains unchanged from an earlier approval
The bulk of the scheme remains unchanged from an earlier approval

12 Comments

Chris
#1 Posted by Chris on 11 Jan 2017 at 16:02 PM
Lumpen monotonous massing. Very poor.
John
#2 Posted by John on 11 Jan 2017 at 16:09 PM
What happened to the central courtyard that would link to the birth place of Canada's first Prime Minister. The previous design was much better than this monolith
David
#3 Posted by David on 11 Jan 2017 at 16:41 PM
I had hoped this would get better, but sadly not. A monstrous building with a singular elevation treatment in the historic centre of Glasgow. Totally out of scale, with a complete disregard to the rich tapestry of urban fabric that makes the Merchant City so special. Could be absolutely anywhere.

Clearly Murphy is better at designing quirky wee houses for architects.
Charlie_
#4 Posted by Charlie_ on 11 Jan 2017 at 17:03 PM
The central courtyard and smaller squares leading to them are still part of the design, they just aren't shown here among renders showing amended elevations. Imo this will add greatly to the richness and complexity of the urban fabric and, hugely, to its vibrancy, bustle and attractiveness as a destination within the city centre. Monotonous it certainly won't be. Just hurry up and actually build it!
Robert
#5 Posted by Robert on 11 Jan 2017 at 17:17 PM
The monotonous street level treatment is pretty concerning.
Andrew Ryan
#6 Posted by Andrew Ryan on 11 Jan 2017 at 17:25 PM
Yikes. That's a bit....heavy handed, isn't it?

Not enough variation along the street frontage for me. The indented stone detailing may be ok in smaller panels but in that kind of mass it's just too much. Broken down it could still be reasonably successful, but it needs to make sure that the interior spaces retain some more of the Merchant City's character and don't simply become an afterthought to the Argyle St/Trongate thoroughfare.
David
#7 Posted by David on 11 Jan 2017 at 18:05 PM
Most welcome to see the updated scheme, and to hear that test drilling is taking place, hopefully this will move on site as soon as possible! Seems to have executed the detailing and materiality to a high standard.

The only aspect of the design that concerns me is the treatment of the two retained buildings at the corner of Trongate/Hutcheson Street and Wilson Street/Hutcheson Street/Brunswick Street. These were never intended to be stand alone structures and I fear they will look isolated as cut off objects from the continuous urban frontage that the scheme presents (unless there will be another building designed for the gap site at a later stage?). The loss of 45 Brunswick Street is also regrettable, being one of only a handful of art deco buildings in central Glasgow.
Big Midge
#8 Posted by Big Midge on 11 Jan 2017 at 20:53 PM
Clumsy looking stone detailing and random window positioning are just two of the major failures for me. Not to mention that the scale of the towers at either end are completely out of context; the first image gives you the perspective line to follow! Agree that this site needs redevelopment, but please don't tell me this is the best solution.
Tom Manley
#9 Posted by Tom Manley on 12 Jan 2017 at 10:29 AM
this looks really good! like the view up King Street a lot.
Sir Ano
#10 Posted by Sir Ano on 12 Jan 2017 at 12:17 PM
I said it before and I'll say it again. Absolutely dreadful.
basho
#11 Posted by basho on 12 Jan 2017 at 13:28 PM
This design and the one for the Merchant City student block are infinitely more interesting than the rash of bland sandstone boxes sprouting up all over Edinburgh. Just be grateful you don't live in a World Heritage Site.

QMD
#12 Posted by QMD on 13 Jan 2017 at 09:49 AM
I think this looks great, although I agree with #5 that it's a bit too dense for elevations.
I bet the courtyard is still part of the design.

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