April 15 2020

Glasgow city centre is set to play host to a new 260-bed apart hotel as part of a broader redevelopment of the Metropolitan Tower by Osborne & Co.

Once again overseen by Cooper Cromar this element of the plan will adopt a complimentary modernist style with a rational main body of repeating bedroom modules rising from a more expressive base.

Formed from glass reinforced concrete and metal cladding each window soffit will include a horizontal louvre for ventilation.

Articulating this approach the architects wrote: “To the ground floor, an expressed ‘V’ structure will present itself to both the North Hanover Street, North Frederick Street and Cathedral Street elevations. The ‘V’ solution represents a structural solution that opens up the pinch points to the street corners. There are added benefits in avoiding potential underground obstructions and utilities by pulling away the primary substructure from the corners of the site.”

A landscaped plaza will conjoin the hotel to the first floor of a revamped Met Tower with a bar and restaurant opening directly onto this new public space.

9 Comments

#1 Posted by Starkitect on 15 Apr 2020 at 14:06 PM

Whilst it's good to see something happening on this site that cathedral street elevation in the D&A statement is absolutely unrelenting.

Jeezo, no chance of a bit of articulation?

#2 Posted by James on 15 Apr 2020 at 15:01 PM

Cooper Cromar is a byword for dull. They seem to have all the imagination of a lamp post.

#3 Posted by wonky on 15 Apr 2020 at 15:13 PM

Great to see the Metro tower getting a makeover- but this hotel element is architectural drudgery, aesthetically banal, with the cathedral street elevation ( not shown here) monolithic, overtly corporate even- what is it with clunky chunky boxes in Glasgow? The fron elevation isn't even symmetrical or harmonious, which is the very least you would expect, when one considers the lack of articulation or even strained detailing of any sort.
If anything I think the back court design ought to be at the front onto Cathedral Street- thereby you would have some semblance of symmetry and a quasi-gateway of sorts into the development. The back court is decent, good even; the front is abysmal.
Couldn't the design have been twice the height & used the existing plate of the structure its replacing? Thereby utilising a more elegant vertical formalism than the squat box in the present iteration- they could have incorporated the same amount of rooms and the Metro tower would have been visible as a 'frame' on both sides of a secondary tower element.

#4 Posted by Derek Wilson on 15 Apr 2020 at 17:28 PM

Well those bench seats are pretty much redundant now.

#5 Posted by town planner on 15 Apr 2020 at 22:40 PM

Echo wholeheartedly the views of @wonky.

"What is it with clunky chunky boxes in Glasgow?" I don't know. I could speculate that the post-war high rises have permanently scarred public/planner psyches? For sure we're sometimes a bit more conservative and cautious in Scotland than many people like to think.

Either way, Glasgow's grid system layout and Clyde remains ripe for some exciting taller buildings; it could be great, let's hope we get there sooner rather than later.

#6 Posted by Fish And Chips on 16 Apr 2020 at 13:13 PM

Overall a positive development. More people in to the city centre utilising the office space to work and to stay and enjoy the hotel. It is clearly an improvement on what is there and should do well positioned next to Queen Street station and a hopefully soon to be reinvigorated George Square.

I’d echo the comment about orientation and the design. It could do with a bit of artistic flair, especially given its prominent position.

#7 Posted by Substance over Style on 16 Apr 2020 at 14:02 PM

looks good to me …. undoubtedly a positive development for Glasgow

#8 Posted by Gordon B on 17 Apr 2020 at 10:49 AM

This proposal is a pure expression of the system that has generated it.....artless capitalist excess writ large

#9 Posted by E=mc2 on 20 Apr 2020 at 09:50 AM

Must have been exhausting designing that. Any design inspiration clearly expired after dreaming up the V shaped columns

Agree with #2. Despite the volume, I doubt much if anything will survive as a lasting legacy in the city when their buildings reach the end of their 'profitable' lifespan.

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