St Andrew House

[RapidAssistant]

Now that the new curtain wall is going on to St Andrew House on Sauchiehall Street, we have been kept in suspense over what it will actually look like in the flesh given it has been just a skeleton for the last few months.

Personally I think it is a bit underwhelming now compared to what we were promised on the original architect's renderings....maybe once it gets the old neon light treatment it will look better. At least it is better than the 1960s Brutalist look it originally had.....

Who is going to book a room in the Premier Inn when it opens?


St Andrew House, Glasgow by RapidAssistant, on Flickr

[rabmania]

Now that the new curtain wall is going on to St Andrew House on Sauchiehall Street, we have been kept in suspense over what it will actually look like in the flesh given it has been just a skeleton for the last few months.

Personally I think it is a bit underwhelming now compared to what we were promised on the original architect's renderings....maybe once it gets the old neon light treatment it will look better. At least it is better than the 1960s Brutalist look it originally had.....]

Not sure about that...

[RDR]

Now that the new curtain wall is going on to St Andrew House on Sauchiehall Street, we have been kept in suspense over what it will actually look like in the flesh given it has been just a skeleton for the last few months.

Personally I think it is a bit underwhelming now compared to what we were promised on the original architect's renderings....maybe once it gets the old neon light treatment it will look better. At least it is better than the 1960s Brutalist look it originally had.....]

Not sure about that...

Got to agree with you there.
What is going up is hardly worth the effort and disruption

[RapidAssistant]

I thought it was going to be a much more glassy building, but the windows aren't any bigger than the original ones.

At the very least I hope they can get better shops into the podium, before it had become rather sad and run down.

[RFCally]

I like it.

[Vinegar Tom]

I quite like the new cladding , but I probably liked it more before the current changes ( being a big stick-in-the-mud ).


New jacket by vinegartom40, on Flickr

[Bingo Bango]

It was shit in the renders and it is shit in real life.

Which is a real shame.

[rabmania]

It was shit in the renders and it is shit in real life.

Which is a real shame.

Och, don't sit on the fence.

[Bingo Bango]

Ha, yeah - sorry about that.

But come on. It really is poor is it not? I think the worst thing was when the old panels were being taken off, you could see that it was actually a very light frame behind it for such a tall building.

It would have been great to see something with a more expressive facade, using more openings to give a more sophisticated building. As it is we have a tall tower clad in bog standard cladding panels, small, in fact very small, window openings and some fancy neon light 'stick-on cool' elements.

And the podium level work leaves a lot to be desired as well. have you seen the blue glass fins stuck on for some (no) reason at Sauchiehall Street? EUCH.

A real shame.

[Bingo Bango]

Actually 2 points:

1. It looks better in real life than the render shown. (perhaps better is an exaggeration - less bad?)

2. The photograph by Vinegar Tom is fantastic - well done and thanks.

[gordon]

The plinth is significantly worse than the tower itself - the blue fins in particular are absolute shockers, and totally unnecessary. Personally I would have liked to have seen the plinth clad in a more 'matte' finish.

As for the tower, well...is that it? I have to admit to having a wee crush on the old aesthetic, looking up at it from street level was pretty overwhelming. The new incarnation is a huge missed opportunity - and the stuck-in lights are absolutely horrendous.

[RapidAssistant]

Well I am not going to join the rose tinted spectacle brigade and argue that the concrete aggregate overcladding should have been kept, or that the Lyric Theatre should never been demolished in the first place and replaced by this edifice.....but all I'll say it's progress folks......

I have to confess it is growing on me, the lack of windows are down to the fact that you only need one per bedroom. I think it does make a better statement on the skyline now - even if the device of putting neon lights onto the top of tall buildings seems to be getting a bit over used in the city now - even the council multis are getting the treatment.

[RapidAssistant]

And the podium level work leaves a lot to be desired as well. have you seen the blue glass fins stuck on for some (no) reason at Sauchiehall Street? EUCH.

Another example of that is those strange metal things they put onto the side of the Buchanan Galleries' car park on North Hanover Street - what the hell are those for?? I remember them getting nailed on the day before the complex opened in 1999...total afterthought!