Inside the secret city centre rooftop garden above Buchanan Street

Buchanan Gardens is part of Land Securities' £70million Buchanan Quarter development at the top of Buchanan Street. It was designed to be ‘an eco-home project offering a high-level insulation for both sound and climate’.

Buchanan Gardens is a development that’s part of a housing complex that sits above the style mile stores H&M, Vans, Rolex, the old Paperchase unit and several other shops. In total the development, called Buchanan Quarter, cost developer Land Securities £70m. When the rooftop housing development went to market back in 2014 the properties sold out within just a few months.

All 49 flats were bought up at an incredible rate from local and international buyers, at time of purchase one-bed apartments started from from £149,995, two-bedrooms from £233,995 while three-bedroom duplex properties rose from £315,995.

On a rare occasion, one of the near 50 flats will be listed for sale. Last year, October 2023, property agent Rettie sold a two-bedroom duplex for over £330,000.

In addition to the Sky Garden, residents at Buchanan Gardens had access to a residents gym and ‘executive lounge’. Several properties include terraces and balconies that look out onto Buchanan Street or West Nile Street.

The gardens went viral in Glasgow in 2020 when Glasgow Deliveroo Driver (@RiderGlasgow) shared photos to Twitter of a ‘secret city centre oasis’ he happened upon by chance while out for deliveries during the first summer of Covid-19 lockdowns.

The orchard garden at the centre of the rooftop is meant to serve as an exclusive communal space and is not accessible to members of the public. The rooftop garden includes a central mulberry tree, crab apple hedges, wild strawberries, and apple trees. Not just for people, the gardens host plants chosen to attract insects and birds - with bird boxes also in place to provide more permanent homes for urban wildlife.

Designed by UK designers BDP Architects, the rooftop garden and extensive waterproofing system was put in place by Alumasc Roofing in what was a massive undertaking bringing a functional garden to the top of a 5-storey building in Glasgow’s City Centre. In total the rooftop garden is comprised of 2,000m2 of ‘green roofing’.