Projects

Repurposing a post-war listed tower in Glasgow, an iconic city building

Our role

• The Met Tower, next to Glasgow Queen Street Station, was built for the Stowe College of Building and Printing in 1960, and was the first tower block built for tertiary education in Scotland.
• At 15-storeys, it has maintained its prominence in the skyline of the city centre. It is a Category B-listed modernist concrete framed building with roof elements similar to those of Le Corbusier.
• We provided Heritage advice and advocacy to the development team during the design development process, advising on the significance of the listed building.
• We prepared a Heritage Statement to accompany successful planning and listed building consent applications for the redevelopment of the tower for a new use as a tech and digital hub.

Results

• The proposals involve sensitive repair and refurbishment of the Category B listed building, construction of a new 10-storey office building to the north and creation of a landscaped wellbeing plaza space between the two buildings.
• Our Heritage Statement assessed the impact of the proposals on the listed building, and the potential effects of the proposed new 10-storey office building on the setting of nearby listed buildings and the conservation area.