St Andrew House Premier Inn development, Glasgow hotel building, Scottish office block conversion architecture

St Andrew House Premier Inn, Glasgow Hotel

Scottish Hotel Development design by Ryder Architecture – new accommodation

13 May 2013

Design: Ryder Architecture

Location: Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, Scotland

Premier Inn Hotel Glasgow

Ryder breathes life into disused Glasgow landmark

Ryder Architecture has completed the £27.5 million conversion of the disused St Andrew House office block into a 210 bedroom Premier Inn hotel, bringing back into use a prominent landmark in Glasgow’s skyline.

photo : Neale Smith

St Andrew House Development

Built in the early sixties and one of the first high-rise buildings in Glasgow, St Andrew House stands within the heart of Glasgow’s city centre. Although its main elevation lines Sauchiehall Street, it can only be fully seen through key long views, with only restricted glimpses possible within the city centre itself. Ryder’s design responds to these views, varying the intensity of facade elements framed by these key vistas, changing how the tower is viewed throughout the city.

The 14,500 sqm project contains two distinct elements – the 3 storey podium and the 17 storey tower. The tower houses the hotel accommodation while the podium element incorporates upgraded retail accommodation on ground, first and second floor levels.

As the original cladding had reached the end of its design life, the building was stripped back to its reinforced concrete structure, remodelled internally and re-clad. The new envelope of the tower is formed from a unitised metal panel system which provides clean and sharp detail across the elevations and brings clarity to its mass. Irregular, recessed, strip window and projecting profiled metal fins breaks down the mass and scale of the tower at street level and continues key characteristics of the original cladding, in its depth, contrast and vertical emphasis, revitalizing the tower’s interaction with its new city context.

Gordon Murray, Director of Ryder Architecture, comments, “The project is an important development in these challenging economic times and will bring back into use the old energy inefficient and commercially unattractive offices and unoccupied retail units.”

Murray continues, “It’s a curious thing that, because St Andrew House was built near the summit of the steep drumlin on which central Glasgow stands, the rooms on the 18th floor are arguably the highest hotel rooms in the city.”

The redevelopment of St Andrew House is a joint venture between owners ING and developer Regent Capital Plc.

Previously:

14 May 2010

Premier Inn Glasgow

GLASGOW OFFICE TOWER TO BECOME PREMIER INN

Ryder Architecture has achieved planning approval for the conversion of St Andrew House, West Nile Street, Glasgow, from offices to a 210 bedroom hotel and retail accommodation. The £27.5M project is a joint venture between Regent Capital plc and ING.

Premier Inn – the high-quality budget hotel chain owned by Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant group – will occupy the former office tower. The hotel is expected to create around 50 jobs when open.

Most of the 17 storey tower and two/three storey podium – built in the early 1960s and one of the first high rise buildings in the city – will be stripped back to the reinforced concrete structure, refurbished, and reclad.

Influenced by the existing building, the design incorporates as much depth as possible in the elevations, layering elements of the facade. This helps break down the mass and scale of the tower but also provides interest and contrast in the elevations. Irregular strips of recessed windows create a clear vertical emphasis. This has been carried through into the podium design to provide visual connection between the tower and the podium. The podium is divided into separate retail units which span the length of the site along Sauchiehall Street.

Main contractor Mansell has worked closely with the client and design team to develop the scheme and is due to start on site in the summer. The project manager is David Southern and Associates.

This is the first office-block-to-hotel conversion project in Scotland to benefit from the Business Premises Renovation Allowances Scheme – a government initiative introduced to encourage the conversion and renovation of empty properties in key areas.

West Nile Street Hotel Development images / information from Ryder Architecture

Glasgow Hotels

Contemporary Glasgow Hotel Building Designs – recent Strathclyde architectural accommodation selection below:

HMH One Clyde Hote, 66-74 Broomielaw Street
Architects: Mosaic Architecture + Design

image courtesy of architects practice
HMH One Clyde Glasgow Hotel