Whatever happens at this site, whether the facade of lost building can be reconstructed (my own preference), or if a new one is constructed on it, it's essential that it fits not only with the neighbouring environs, but also maintains these architectural traditions. Anything other than this will risk destorying a key aspect of the city's Victorian streetscape which helps make it such a unique place to live and to visit.
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One of the main aspects of Glasgow's traditional architecture, and one of the things which makes the city architecturally distinct, is its feature corners. Corner sites are often marked by grand buildings topped by corner towers and/or domes (see top right and bottom left pictures), and the Union Corner Building was part of this tradition (top left).
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It's the first street many people see after arriving at Central Station and Union Corner is on two major sightlines through the city centre (south down Renfield Street and west along Gordon Street from Buchanan Street). This means the choice of building for this location will have a major impact on how the city looks and feels.
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Once the dust finally settles after the fire in the Union Corner Building in Glasgow (top left), attention will undoubtedly turn to how to fill the gap it has left behind.
This is an important location for the city, and Gordon Street is packed with many magnificent Victorian buildings (top right, bottom left and bottom right).
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However, the Union Corner building is essential to the Victorian streetscape surrounding Central Station, and in my opinion, every effort should be made to reconstruct it, too, rather than replace it with a modern building which would completely alter the architectural feel of this key junction.
The view from Gordon Street, showing the remaining facade of the Union Corner building. With nothing to support it and due to the heat from the fire, it's likely to be structurally unsound.
On the left is the Ca'D'Oro, another listed building at the same junction, which was gutted by a fire 1987, but was successfully rebuilt within a couple of years, although it has an iron facade which made this much easier to achieve.
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The ornate cupola and roof lantern of the former John Black and Sons Warehouse on Gordon Street in central Glasgow. Designed by Boucher and Cousland in 1858, it was altered by J.J. Burnet in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
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Somewhat surprisingly, despite being a strongly Christian society, most architectural sculptures in Victorian Glasgow were instead inspired by other cultures, such as ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Persian, and even northern European pagan mythologies. The exact reasons for this are unclear.
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The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins on the 1890s Standard Buildings on Gordon Street in central Glasgow. Attributed by James Young, this is one of the few achitectural sculptures with an overtly biblical inspiration in the city's Victorian financial district.
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The Gordon Street facade of Glasgow's Central Station. Designed by R. R. Anderson, it was built in the 1880s.
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This Is My Glasgow