Sheppard Robson's planned development of new homes in Glasgow

Image: India Street Glasgow, courtesy of Sheppard Robson

Permission has been granted by Glasgow City Council to transform 20 India Street in Glasgow, opposite Charing Cross station. The scheme, designed for urban regeneration specialist Vita Group in partnership with West of Scotland Housing Association, will create 591 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) studios and 20 affordable homes on a brownfield site.

The 21,000m² development will introduce 3,346m² of landscaped public realm, including a new linear park to serve both residents and the wider community. Within the development, private amenity spaces will include an enclosed courtyard and two roof terraces, which are designed to foster community interaction and promote wellbeing.

Ground floor spaces will prioritise social connection through amenities such as dedicated study areas, a gym, and café-style lounges. Retail and commercial units will activate the streetscape, with extensive glazing to maintain visual connectivity between internal and external spaces.

The project will repair the fragmented urban grain caused by post-war development and the M8 motorway through a carefully composed family of buildings. The massing strategy responds sensitively to its context, with the tallest element aligning with the Scottish Power Headquarters, then stepping down to respect the height of the neighbouring buildings on Elmbank Crescent. A deliberate void between the taller elements will break down the scheme’s visual mass when viewed across the city skyline.

The car-free scheme maximises its city centre location adjacent to major transport links. The energy strategy combines passive design measures with zero-emission heating technology, incorporating air source heat pumps and electric boilers. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels will generate renewable energy on-site, while extensive planted areas and flat roofs will enhance biodiversity and help manage surface water.

Stacey Philips, partner at Sheppard Robson, said: “Our design prioritises student and residential experience and wellbeing while ensuring the scheme sits well with the Glasgow context. The array of social spaces and amenities will help create an environment where students can easily study and socialise together.

The civic-minded architecture aims to deliver new public spaces that will enliven the streetscape while being a good neighbour to the surrounding area.”

Image: Whitworth Street West, Manchester - courtesy of Sheppard Robson

In further news, Sheppard Robson has submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council for a 44-storey residential tower on Whitworth Street West in Manchester for its client Glenbrook.

With 364 apartments, the building’s design will embrace modern, sustainable design principles and be rooted in its context through new public spaces that enhance the streetscape and improve pedestrian connections.

The design draws on the heritage of the area with the façades referencing the tones and detailing of local landmarks across the city. The new building’s deep red terracotta façade, grand arches, and elegant column details nod to the industrial past, while the structure has been designed to embrace modern technologies that improve thermal and acoustic performance, ventilation, and daylighting.

At ground level, a dramatic triple-height, arched colonnade—a subtle reference to the architectural language of the listed viaducts and industrial heritage—provides a pedestrian route along Whitworth Street West.

This strong base for the building creates connections to the newly created landscaped public spaces flanking the building and strengthens the links between Whitworth Street West, First Street, and Deansgate, offering amenities and increasing biodiversity in the area. Resident spaces on the ground floor, Level 1, and Level 2 will further animate the streetscape around the building.

The articulation of the three-storey base grounds the building within its context, while the continuation of the primary material from this base up the height of the tower creates a unified expression across the entire structure. The emphasis on vertical elements helps unify the tower with its base, while the horizontal stratification of the façade visually breaks down the building’s mass, responding to the layout and organisation of the floorplates.

The massing has been carefully shaped to respond to the surrounding urban context, with a lower three-storey setback that aligns with nearby streetscape elements. The overall height of 44 storeys integrates with the emerging tall building clusters in New Jackson and Deansgate, while the reduced building footprint creates space for new public realm and pedestrian routes.

The design features a 60/40 solid-to-glazing façade ratio that reduces solar gain while allowing natural light and ventilation. Around 80% of spaces are naturally ventilated to minimise energy use, and off-site construction methods and modular façade systems reduce material waste. Energy-efficient technologies, including air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels, support a low-carbon future for the building.

Tony O’Brien, Partner at Sheppard Robson, said:

“By opening up the site, we are creating vibrant public spaces and pathways that enhance connections across this part of the city. The building’s terracotta, high-performance façade references both the existing and historic context while introducing a distinctly modern addition to the evolving skyline of Manchester.”