Date: 04 April 08
Author: Caroline Ednie, Web Editor
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The Titan Enterprise Centre in Clydebank has recently been completed by Page \ Park. The 2,250 sq m project sits on the site of the former John Brown Shipyard at Queens Quays in Clydebank. The urban regeneration company Clydebank Rebuilt Ltd appointed Page \ Park to design a three and a half storey building that would provide 31 individual turnkey office suites to let as business start-up units together with a reception space, lounge areas, service and meeting rooms.
Page \ Park was commissioned by Clydebank Rebuilt Ltd in 2003 to develop a masterplan for the regeneration of the 80 acre brownfield development site adjacent the river Clyde, and the Titan Enterprise Centre is the second project to be completed in accordance with this masterplan. The remaining site area will be developed in phases by both public and private development bodies.
Page \ Park designed the building to reflect the ship building legacy of the site in both form and materials. The northern section of the building is clad in copper; flaring cantilevered steps in the slabs a each level evoke a form reminiscent of a ships hull. This is reinforced by the roofline which rises above along the length of the elevation into a prow at the eastern end of the building. The copper hull is seemingly supported on timber columns, as ships in construction would have been supported prior to their launch. The reference to ship building is continued in the interior of the building. The design of the stair cores, utilising industrial chequer plate and exposed steel members, reflects the aesthetic of a ships engine room. This theme is followed through to the southern part of the building where timber cladding expresses the materials used in a ship fit-out
An environmental engineering strategy for the project has ensured that the building is “low tech”. Air conditioning is only applied to two ground floor meeting rooms. Mechanical extract is provided to the office suites (as proximity to Glasgow airport limits the use of open windows for natural ventilation) and wet system heating (trench & low level radiators) has been installed. The office suites have exposed concrete
soffits providing thermal mass for the building and highly insulated timber frame infill panels completed the building envelope.
The project started on site in June 2006 and was recently completed within budget.
Project: Titan Enterprise Centre
Architect: Page / Park
Client: Clydebank Rebuilt
Location: Clydebank
Links: http://www.pagepark.co.uk/ & http://www.clydebankrebuilt.co.uk/
Images: Keith Hunter Photography
