Buchanan Street Underground Entrance, Glasgow

At the time of completion, Glasgow's underground entrance had the world's widest structural glass span.

The small scale and apparent simplicity of this structure belies its prominence within Glasgow's 'great street' and the highly technical and innovative nature of the construction. The context for the project was Gillespies success in an international design competition for the renewal of Glasgow's premier shopping area – Buchanan Street.

Gillespies competition concept for Buchanan Street was to express the heritage and vibrancy of the city using Steel, Stone, Glass and Light. These materials from the streetscape project have been incorporated seamlessly into the reconstruction of the underground railway entrances on Buchanan Street. In order to minimise the visual impact on the street, the main entrance canopy has been designed with a remarkable structural glass roof, walls, beams and columns with no visible steelwork above the granite plinth.