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.

Built in the early 60s, 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 square metre project contains two distinct elements – the three-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, commented: “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.”

“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,” he added.

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