Historic buildings are everywhere in Glasgow. They’re what give the city its unique character which draws visitors from all over the world. They tell the city’s story and chart the social and cultural changes that have taken place over decades and centuries.
Giving these buildings a new lease of life when their original purpose comes to an end can bring lots of benefits, from retaining a strong sense of place and local identity to providing a boost for tourism and investment.
These buildings also have an important part to play in helping achieve net zero. In our daily lives, we know that cutting down on waste and doing more with less can help reduce our impact on the planet. The same principle also applies to our built environment. By retaining and reusing the buildings we already have, instead of building new, we can use resources more efficiently and cut down on the carbon emissions which are the key contributor to global warming.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) champions the reuse of historic buildings by providing advice and guidance for planners and developers on how this can be done sensitively. We’ve picked eight inspiring examples of creative reuse which show how our historic environment can contribute to a vibrant, greener Glasgow.
1. Bell Street Stables
The historic Bell Street Stables, a former B-listed Victorian stable block in Glasgow’s Merchant City, was successfully converted into 52 mid-market rental flats in 2019, thanks to a £7 million transformation project. This innovative redevelopment, designed by Collective Architecture for Lowther, part of Wheatley Group, has earned numerous awards, including HES’s Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Conservation and Climate Change Award and the Best Restoration and Conversion category at the Herald Property Awards in 2021. | Contributed
2. The Briggait
Originally built in 1873, the Briggait is an A-listed building that used to house Glasgow’s fish market until its closure in the 1970s. After a brief and unsuccessful stint as a shopping centre in the late 1980s, the building stood empty until it was redeveloped by Workshop & Artists Studio Provision Scotland Ltd (WASPS) in 2009. Now, the building hosts 45 artists’ studios, exhibition halls and offices, and the market hall is open to all. The Briggait is a tremendous example of sympathetically adapting and reusing a listed building to secure its long-term future, setting future artists up for success by making their studios part of Glasgow’s architectural history. | dod
3. Botanic Gardens Garage
Botanic Gardens Garage is Scotland’s oldest multi-storey car park. In the early 20th century, on-street parking was illegal, but not everyone had access to their own driveway or garage. Thus emerged the public garage, of which the Botanic Gardens Garage is an early example. Built in several stages between 1905 and 1930s, the iconic white and green glazed terracotta frontage was added in 1911. Once on-street parking was legalised, the garage fell out of use and it passed to Arnold Clark in the 1960s. After an application for partial demolition was filed in 2007, the community rallied around the old garage. Several community groups came up with creative suggestions for reusing the building, and the demolition application was refused consent. The garage was subsequently repaired and converted for alternate uses, and now houses three restaurants and a gym | Contributed
4. Garment Factory
The Garment Factory is a massive seven-story red sandstone building in the heart of Glasgow city centre, not far from George Square. It was originally built in 1898 for J and W Campbell and Co as a warehouse and was category B-listed in 1989. After the building ceased to be used as a warehouse, it was converted into offices. However, this early conversion put in raised floors and false ceilings, as well as dividing up the big warehouse floors into much smaller offices. When Morgan McDonnell Architecture were tasked with the space’s refurbishment in 2017, they restored a lot of the historic features that made the building significant, including large sash windows, exposed ceilings, wooden flooring, and iron columns, alongside the ornate tiled staircases. | Contributed