Glasgow News January 2014 : Buildings in western Scotland, Strathclyde Architecture Information
Glasgow Building News January 2014
Strathclyde Architectural Developments – Built Environment West Scotland
Strathclyde Architecture Design News
Glasgow News January 2014
Helix Park plaza café Building
Keppie completes Helix Park plaza café in Falkirk
image courtesy of architects practice
Architectural practice Keppie Design has completed and handed over the plaza café building as part of the Helix Park project on behalf of Falkirk Community Trust.
The 110 sq m building provides facilities including an office for park rangers, and a café and toilets for visitors to Helix Park in Falkirk.
Helix Park is the first phase of the Helix, a £43m project to regenerate an area of industrial land between Falkirk and Grangemouth into a public space by Falkirk Council. The Park, which opened in September 2013, currently features a 200m wide lagoon, a great lawn – capable of hosting up to 12,000 people, and a splash play area. The Keppie-designed plaza café, which sits next to the lagoon, is due to open in May 2014.
Alan Seddon, associate at Keppie Design, said: “Following discussions around the initial brief, our design solution consolidated the accommodation into a compact L-shaped plan, with an extended canopy providing shelter for visitors and storage for furniture after hours.
“We were interested in the idea of making a building which would serve purely as an accent to its setting, a bit like a folly in a classical landscape. The result is deliberately enigmatic: from a distance the cafe might be taken for a boat shed or simply a sculptural object reflected in the water of the lagoon. It invites enquiry and on closer inspection reveals its purpose. We are extremely pleased with the result and hope it enhances the experience of the visitors to the Park.”
image courtesy of architects practice
Mike King from Falkirk Community Trust said: “Keppie approached us with a design that responded elegantly to our brief but also opened our eyes to the huge potential that such a small pavilion could offer. Throughout the process Keppie proved adaptable, incorporating the changes that we needed to make the building work operationally, without compromising the concept that we originally bought into. We are delighted with the outcome.”
The plaza café is the first of three ‘wooden box’ buildings to be constructed in the Park. The second will provide classrooms, changing rooms and viewing galleries and the third secure storage for boards, kayaks, paddles and safety equipment.
The 110 sq m building provides facilities including an office for park rangers, and a café and toilets for visitors to Helix Park in Falkirk. 27 Jan
Perth City Hall Building
We have posted a letter of objection to Historic Scotland + a new photo of two surveyors outside the City Hall, see the January news on the Edinburgh Architecture site. 27 Jan
BEFS Annual Lecture
Emeritus Professor Cliff Hague, Chairman of Built Environment Forum Scotland, is delighted to invite you to the inaugural BEFS Annual Lecture by the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, Sir Harry Burns, at 6pm on Monday, February 24th 2014. Sir Harry has been invited to address the issue of Health and the Built Environment. 27 Jan
Venue: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
UK Construction Industry News
Value of construction industry ‘up by 67 per cent’ in 12 months
The value of new construction contracts awarded in December 2013 is valued at £6bn, a 67.1 per cent increase on December 2012.
Infrastructure projects were accountable for 36 per cent of the total contract value and data suggests this sector will continue to grow throughout 2014.
These figures are “a reflection of an exciting year for the construction industry” marking a significant period of sustained growth in activity in the UK, according to economists. 27 Jan
The Azure Building Glasgow
The Azure Building – Glasgow Skypark
Planning Consent Granted For ‘the Azure Building’ @ Skypark
Moorfield Real Estate Fund II (MREFII), Moorfield Group (Moorfield) and Glasgow based joint venture partner, Resonance Capital, has announced that planning consent has been granted for ‘The Azure Building’, the latest addition to its collection of high-quality office space on the Skypark business campus. 23 Jan
Parkview Primary School
photo © Keith Hunter Photography
Park View Primary School – 17 + 16 Jan
Parkview Primary School by Stallan-Brand
St.Cadoc’s Primary School
St.Cadoc’s Cairns Primary Community Campus – 17 + 16 Jan
St.Cadoc’s Primary School and Parkview Primary School by Stallan-Brand
Reid Building – Glasgow School of Art
photo © McAteer
Reid Building Glasgow – 16 Jan
A new piece by the Turner Prize winning artist Martin Boyce is to be the feature artwork in the entrance to the new Reid Building at The Glasgow School of Art
William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Centre
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photo © Keith Hunter Photography
photo © Keith Hunter Photography
photo © Keith Hunter Photography
photo © Keith Hunter Photography
William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Centre by Anderson Bell Christie architects – 16 Jan.
Scottish Architectural Photos
We’ve added images for these buildings in the last few days:
• EICC extension and Atria building, Edinburgh by BDP
• Q10 Quartermile, Edinburgh by Richard Murphy Architects. 16 + 13 Jan
Claremont House
Maven has acquired the vacant Claremont House near the University of Glasgow which it will refurbish into a 94-room student accommodation unit. The building is scheduled to be open for the start of 2014/15 academic year. Maven has raised £3m to fund this new student accommodation development in the West End of Glasgow. The completed development will be managed by CRM, regarded as one of the top five specialist student accommodation management companies in the UK and already operates 50 units across the country, including two in Glasgow. 6 Jan
Scottish Towns Regeneration Funding
Seven towns are to benefit from a £2.75m Scottish Government fund aimed at breathing new life into town centres. The money will be spent on converting vacant properties into affordable homes.
The cash is divided up as follows:
• Clackmannanshire Council gets £782,000 to help develop 17 homes in Stirling Street, Alva.
• Fife Council gets £764,000 for 18 properties at Cupar’s County Buildings.
• Angus Council gets £200,000 to develop about four homes in Carnoustie High Street.
• East Dunbartonshire Council gets the same amount for six homes in Townhead, Kirkintilloch.
• Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association gets £350,000 to help provide seven homes in Bridge Street, Tranent.
• Kingdom Housing Association gets £255,523 for 14 properties at the former Crown Hotel in Crieff.
• Clyde Valley Housing Association gets £150,000 for seven homes in Bank Street, Coatbridge.
6 Jan
Comments on the Glasgow Architecture News in January 2014 post are welcome.
Scottish Buildings – Glasgow Building News Archive
Best scottish buildings of the last three decades
Glasgow News Highlights
Glasgow Fort to expand
Comments / photos for the Glasgow News for January 2014 page welcome