Architect's anger over 'ruinous' extension for award-winning Glasgow Radisson hotel

Now the original architect of the Argyle Street feature has condemned plans to ‘ruin’ it with a new ‘stalking horse’ three storey extension on top of the hotel.

The original Radisson Blu which sits within the city centre conservation area at the west end of Argyll Street was winner of multiple national and international awards for architecture and hotel design and voted among the top ten buildings to be built in Scotland since 1945.

The extension would add a further three extra storeys of accommodation to the landmark hotel on Argyle Street in the city centre near to Glasgow Central Station, and provide for a total of 141 new guest rooms to add to the present 247 rooms.

But the new plans have prompted original architect Professor Alan Dunlop to object, saying: "It would ruin the hotel, absolutely, it would be grim indeed."

He said it "irrevocably damages a highly considered building" describing the rooftop extension as a "big black box" which is "crass, elementary and lacks design intelligence".

Prof Alan Dunlop

He said: "Commercially I can see why the owners might want it, stacking three floors on top of the existing plan. Civically, architecturally, public realm wise it would be a tragedy, a real loss to the city. "

It proposes a refurbishment of all rooms and the increase in number of lifts, as well as the extension of the existing hotel bar and restaurant area into an existing adjacent ground floor function room.

But Mr Dunlop says the plans for the hotel, which he said made Glasgow’s financial district possible, acting as a stepping stone for the public and office staff from Central Station to the Broomielaw and the river, should be thrown out by the council.

Since opening its doors in November 2002, the Radisson Blu hotel was named Glasgow Hotel of the Year at the 2004 Scottish Hotel Awards set up to reward outstanding character in hotels, guest houses and other establishments.In June 2005 it was awarded five stars by Visit Scotland.

In 2005, it was placed tenth in the top 100 modern Scots buildings by architecture magazine Prospect topped by the St Peter’s Seminary in Cardross, Argyll.

Prof Dunlop said: "The scale of the [original] building and the street pavement entrance and canopy were very, very carefully considered.

How the development may look.  Source: Maith Design 

"Both the proposed muckle four storey black box on top and the alterations to the front will destroy all that."

"Although in 1999/2000, the west end of Argyle Street was rundown and the site had been derelict for some time, it sat within Glasgow's conservation area. As one of the city’s oldest thoroughfares, Argyle Street also still retained a character and a median height of twenty metres throughout its length.

"Accordingly, the copper screen was set at 20 metres to respect and continue this median height, particularly so close to the Heilanman's Umbrella [the local Glaswegian nickname for the glass walled railway bridge] and the scale of the thoroughfare but would allow me to build an additional one or two storey building behind. This is what happened.

"I chose copper for the Radisson front screen because I wanted to use an 'indigenous' Glasgow material but in a dramatic way and was influenced by [famed Scottish architectural firm] Gillespie Kidd and Coia’s use of copper over large areas, particularly at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Dennistoun.

"The copper screen is beautifully made and a credit to the Glasgow craftsmen that constructed it.

"It took months to set out and every shingle meets exactly where it is supposed to.

"The lightweight and engineered screen acts as a foil to the buildings frontage and accommodates some flexibility of form in the Argyle Street elevation, pulling pull back from Glasgow’s grid line at the entrance to the hotel and helping to create a 'public' space in-between.

"That space is important to the city and used for many high profile awards and functions.

"The proposed rooftop addition is so over-scaled it dwarfs the screen. I can only assume it is a stalking horse, for in my view no architect could seriously propose such an addition to this building.

"It is clumsy and detracts from the carefully considered copper screen front and the contextual Argyle Street 'Glasgow' elevation."

A statement in support of the proposals by North Planning and Development says insists the plan "respects the surrounding historic environment" and would make a "positive contribution to the streetscape".

Source: Maith Design

They said that it represented a "highly creative and innovative soluton to extending the existing operational hotel building and which has appropriate regard to the character and setting of the existing building".

It said: "The works that are proposed by this application will help to ensure that the signficant number of existing jobs that are supported in the existing hotel and the associated supply chain are maintained and supported and the construction and future operation of the expanded hotel will inevitably deliver investment and further full and part-time jobs either directly or indirectly.

"The demand for additional hotel accommodation in Glasgow exists and these proposals seek to respond and provide to help meet that demand.

"The scale and design of the proposals have been very carefully developed to deliver on objectives and take due account of surrounding building context and uses, and the proposals respond positively to these considerations and provide for a high-quality solution which will enhance the existing building, and which is appropriate and sensitive to surrounding buildings."

It went on: "The extended hotel will deliver a more sustainable building that continues to be visually and commercially attractive and which will enhance the quality of life for everyone."