Working

Clydesdale Bank Exchange

Brief

Keppie was briefed to design a top quality Grade A office building, on a strategic corner site, situated within the developing  Financial Services District of Glasgow.  The accommodation was to include good use detail units at ground floor with basement car parking to the alloted number of spaces required under Planning Policy Guide 17.  The full extent of the site was to be utilised to achieve the maximum net / gross floor area possible with a core area containing toilets and lift facilities.

Response

We achieved all of the above by designing an open, virtually column free floor plate around a central core area containing stairs, lifts, toilets and shower rooms.  Net to gross area ratio of eighty seven percent was achieved based on a total net lettable area of ninety six thousand five hundred square feet.  Floor plates are based on a plan depth of twelve metres with floor to ceiling glazing on all floors, allowing each to benefit from high levels of natural daylight.  The building also benefits from a full air conditioning system.

Two large retail units were formed at ground floor on either side of an impressive double height entrance / reception area, giving access to the triple lift arrangement.  Basement car parking for thirty five cars is security controlled and traffic light sequencing.  Cycle racks are also provided for staff to utilise.

Outcome

All floors have been let to high profile tenants including the Clydesdale Bank, after whom the building has been named.   At ground floor, one unit is a successful cafe / delicatessen and the other a prominent solicitors business.  The building, completed in 2004, has provided a high quality addition to the Glasgow office scene and a striking feature to an important corner site in the centre of Glasgow.  Clydesdale Bank Exchange was awarded "Commercial Property of the Year" by Property Week Magazine in 2005.

Team