Bellgrove

Bellgrove is a key site within the Glasgow Inner East Transformational Regeneration Area. Buildings which are no longer fit for purpose (Whitevale and Bluevale Towers) have been downtaken, with brownfield sites being sequentially developed to create a dense residential district which also contains significant public green spaces. This project forms the third phase of redevelopment, and encompasses the former Bellgrove Hotel building and the adjacent brownfield site.

The architecturally and culturally significant front portion of the Bellgrove Hotel is to be retained, with unviable parts of the rear section removed. The building, one of very few remaining art moderne structures in Glasgow, is to be repaired externally and reconfigured internally, with the cellular accommodation of the hotel layout replaced with fully wheelchair accessible flats, accessed from a deck to the rear whose form and detail are conceived with reference to the moderne style. Like the new-build block, the flats within the hotel building will meet the ‘Gold Hybrid’ standard of sustainability, with a Kensa ground source heat pump providing heating and hot water.

The new build block is set back from the Gallowgate, allowing the formation of a landscaped linear park which serves multiple purposes - valuable amenity space, a buffer against the busy road, and a means of ensuring that the retained hotel building is visually prominent. Parking provision is low, allowing a large proportion of the site to be landscaped, and is accessed via a shared surface route discretely positioned to the edge of the site.

Balconies are provided at each of the corners of the block, providing good quality external amenity space for the residents, and overlooking of public space. Ancillary services are grouped together in a back court pavilion structure, which divides the courtyard into two intimately scaled external spaces for the use of the residents. Raingardens are also contained in these spaces, forming part of the SUDS strategy for the site. The block layout itself is efficiently designed, with a compact external envelope minimising heat loss and increasing thermal efficiency.

Architecturally, the block makes some subtle references to the moderne style without seeking to emulate it literally. There are a number of subtly curved elements, most noticeably at the corners of the block and at the entrance to common closes where curved canopies project outwards in reference to the entrance to the hotel building. Large window openings are achieved throughout - those flats without a balcony have Juliet balconies to their living rooms. The fenestration is varied within a coherent overall grid to achieve a light and playful overall impression.