ONE of the finest examples of new architecture in the world this year is – a multi-storey car park in Glasgow.
Despite being structures usually associated with crime, grime and nasty odours, the multi-storey at a city hospital has drawn praise for its “dynamic fluttering effect” in sunlight.
The car park has been nominated for this year’s World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards alongside amazing new buildings in glamorous locations such as Paris, Singapore and Sydney.
Competing structures include a theatre made of straw in Estonia, a tree hotel in Sweden, a bamboo office in India and a moving gallery in New York.
Two other new Scottish buildings are in the running, the new Roslin Institute building in Edinburgh and the Riverside Museum of Transport, also in Glasgow.
The shortlisted multi-storey is located at the city’s Southern General Hospital and was designed by Ryan Young of Scotland-based Hypostyle architects.
The building cost £5.6 million and features five levels with 700 parking spaces.
According to the judges, the car park features natural sandstone and natural timber with horizontal timber blades creating a “dynamic fluttering effect” in the sunlight.
The car park’s stairs are identified as major features in the design, with their “simple form and transparency contrasting with the fretted detail and texture of the louver and mesh panelled facades”.
The festival takes place in Barcelona between 2 – 4 November where architects will present their designs live to international judging panels and festival delegates.
All the shortlisted buildings can be viewed on the WAF website and voted for by members of the public.
Paul Finch, WAF Programme Director, said: “The WAF Awards celebrate architectural excellence the world over and allow architects to showcase their talent and their unique responses to the ever-changing economic climate.
“There is now an increasing need for innovative approaches to architecture, inspiring architects and designers to think in new ways about buildings.
“It’s encouraging that the quality of this year’s entries is the highest we’ve ever seen and we look forward to seeing which projects both the judges select as the winners.”
The Roslin Institute building was designed by Brian Kowalchuk and was, say the judges, inspired by DNA and the form of the chromosome helix.
Renowned architect Zaha Hadid designed the Riverside Museum of Transport which uses a design that flows from the city to the river and “symbolizes a dynamic relationship where the museum is the voice of both, connecting the city to the river and also the transition from one to the other”.
Projects have been entered this year for highlighting the continuing need for innovative buildings that use materials and construction techniques which are “sympathetic to practical, aesthetic and economical factors” in the current challenging economical climate.
