Red Tree Magenta

Clyde Gateway, Scotland’s biggest regeneration program, initiated a project to build the first commercial building at Magenta Business Park in Shawfield, located on the outskirts of Glasgow. The project was a catalyst in the market to demonstrate the viability of a remediation strategy for the wider site. The design vision was to provide a range of office space from 113 square feet to more than 7,185 square feet with shared reception, meeting rooms, social breakout and ancillary space in line with the existing Red Tree brand. The building had to deliver flexibility to accommodate changes in tenants’ needs.

NORR designed the commercial building to align with the proposed masterplan, as there was no actual context in place following extensive demolition of industrial structures and environmental remediation of the former contaminated site. The project was the first building on this masterplan site and set the design and sustainability credentials for the wider area. The pavilion design has four distinct frontages and is formed in a monolithic and singular material to the roof, walls and soffits. The monopitch roof is subverted through the introduction of angles to respond to key contexts. The main facade rises to 5 stories, dropping dramatically across the head to follow the pitch of the roof, and caps a deep frame with an oversized window overlooking the primary approach.

Future proofing was achieved through repetitive service layouts relating to window locations and lightweight partitions built off raised access flooring, allowing partitions to move easily within planned modules. Services were routed along a central corridor and fed into units at each bay to allow future adaptability. Within office spaces, Holorib slabs and steelwork are exposed allowing easy access to services and providing greater volume to these spaces.

Achieving a BREEAM Very Good and an EPC A rating, the building was completed in 2019 and was fully let in 11 weeks, proving the regeneration and transformational change realized the project vision. Red Tree Magenta contributes significantly to Clyde Gateway’s three key objectives; sustainable place transformation, increasing economic activity and developing community capacity.