Glasgow project aims for top ‘wellness’ rating
M&G Real Estate has unveiled plans for its £100 million office development in Glasgow at 33 Cadogan Square.
The Grid will provide 277,500sq ft of Grade A space over 12 levels, and aims to secure a gold WELL certification from the International WELL Building Institute, making it Scotland’s healthiest office building.
Lynn Smith, development director with M&G Real Estate, who is running the project, explains: “Wellness in a building is a combination of the tangible and the intangible.
“In the case of the design of the Grid, the actual building encourages the workforce to pursue a healthier lifestyle.
“It will have professional spa-standard shower rooms and changing facilities which will encourage people to walk, jog or cycle to work or to be more active in their lunch hour. To achieve the highest wellness rating, however, you have to go a bit further than providing the means for people to be active, you have to encourage it.”
Smith says: “We have built a yoga studio into the design which I think is a first for Scotland.
“Our bike spaces are not hidden away down in the basement as most are, they are at ground floor level so they can be seen.”
The considerations of wellness start with the infrastructure of the building.
Smith says: “A lot of the materials in the building are natural – stone and wood will help people to feel that they aren’t spending their days in a plastic environment and the floor coverings are all recycled material.
“We are careful to choose solvents and glues that are not noxious, always thinking, at every stage, how to meet the health agenda.”
Both the air conditioning and water supplies are filtered as they enter the building.
Planning consent for the Grid was granted in 2017 and the building will replace the former Corunna House.
One of building’s key features will be the multi-use reception, with a café and concierge service.
This double height space will have dramatic lighting, co-working areas and breakout spaces as well as oversized stairs for informal meetings and agile working.
The stairs have also been designed to double as an auditorium and event setting.
The top three floors have panoramic views from southfacing terraces, which frame the views across the city and the hills beyond.
On the tenth floor, a private double-height sky garden provides a focal point for upper floor occupiers.
At roof level there is the Loft, a communal business lounge and garden – an area designed to inspire, with space to meet, unwind and take in the view.
The design of the building has already achieved a Wiredscore platinum rating, the highest standard for digital infrastructure, technology and connectivity of office buildings.
Additionally it is targeting EPC A and BREEAM excellent ratings.
William Badger, asset manager at M&G Real Estate, says: “Ways of working are changing fast and so must the buildings we create.
“Workspace is one of the key contributors to staff wellbeing.
“We believe we have created something that is truly special and unique in the Glasgow market.”
The Grid has been designed by Glasgow architectural firm Cooper Cromar, with property advisers JLL and Knight Frank appointed as letting agents.
Demolition of the existing building is planned for later this year, with completion achievable by late 2021.
“We always thinking, at every stage, how to meet the health agenda”
LYNN SMITH
M&G REAL ESTATE