SILVERBURN
Commissioned by Retail Property Holdings Ltd (RPH) BDP are Design Team Leader providing Architectural, Landscape, Graphics and Acoustic services for Silverburn on the outskirts of Glasgow. The development comprises the regeneration of the existing neighbourhood Pollok Centre into a regional mall equipped for the demands of 21st century retailing. Construction work has commenced with centre opening in October 2007.
The 75 acre site will comprise 1,000,000 square feet of prime retail and leisure space incorporating over 110 shop units with 4 major anchor units including a 125,000 sqft department store and 140,000 sqft superstore. The development, with direct access off the M77 through newly formed sliproads, will be served by a 2000 space Multi Storey Car Park and 2500 spaces at grade. A new transport interchange with additional park-and-ride facilities will enhance public service provision.
The site is also bounded by the existing Brock Burn’ and to permit construction works to commence a reservoir has been constructed up stream to remove potential flooding risks. In addition to the reservoir the majority of the site has been raised by approximately 1.5m from existing levels.
DESIGN CONCEPT
Building Form
The vision for Silverburn is to create the kind of quality environment, range of uses, and powerful sense of place that can live up to the role as the primary retail destination within the central belt of Scotland; a place where there is a strong dynamic relationship between quality architecture and a vibrant mix of uses; where a co-ordinated design approach to the public domain and the desire to realise the development potential of the site is balanced by a concern to address the social dimension of the public spaces; a place to which people are attracted and where they feel both stimulated and secure.
From the outset of the design process Silverburn was considered as a series of retail spaces, each with a distinct character. These spaces then form a ‘Primary Retail Route’ through the development creating varying retailing events with differing themes and characters as they progress.
The principles of openness, shelter and enclosure along primary pedestrian routes have been a major element in the design concept.
The current proposals provide a variety of experiences with the scale and presence of the differing areas reflecting the proposed retail offer. By providing a variety experience to the public a greater character than is found in recent centres of a similar scale is proposed within Silverburn. Within each covered retail street the design will surpass current expectations by delivering a high quality, eclectic shopping environment.
The primary retail route will be decorated in high quality stonework utilising different materials and forms determined by each retail zone. The use of these natural materials creates a ‘Sense of Place’ distinct for each area, whilst maintaining an underlying theme linking the route as a whole. Street furniture, soft and hard landscape and elements of public art are also proposed to provide a continuity of design as you move from one space to another.
Within the retail streetscape there are a number of distinct destinations namely:
• The Main Street area provides a crisp, restrained aesthetic. With the internal elevation taking the form of a sweeping white marble portico forming double height shopfronts the Main Street terminates in the second anchor store and southern mall entrance.
• Department Store Plaza with it’s significant central public space and overlooking food galleries. This space has been designed to provide a dramatic centre to the Silverburn development and enhance views to the new Debenhams department store.
• The Lifestyle Arcade in contrast provides a more intimate space with smaller, more individually distinctive specialist retailing.
• The Wintergarden simply adds to the diverse range of retail and public space experiences. Here we have an element of surprise as the public flow from the traditional to the spectacular. The space is for eating, relaxing and enjoying some of the specialist retail offers particular to this significant area. To give this distinctive quality the space is like a tropical garden with splashing waterfalls and rippling streams under the cover of a 18m high glazed timber glulam arched roof.
The desire to reinforce connections with the local community has established the concept of the pedestrian ‘Boardwalk’ and ‘Linear Park’. To address issues of accessibility and pedestrian safety along the edge of the building between the retail units and the car park the ’Boardwalk’ provides a pedestrian safe zone across the site. Links have been encouraged through the site to local community facilities, the local Primary and Secondary Schools together and Health and Leisure facilities.
The ‘Linear Park’ provides a softer, pedestrian friendly edge between the building and the car park and assists in anchoring the development into the surrounding landscape. To reinforce the strength of this expression the ‘Linear Park’ follows the line of an 8m high precast concrete ‘Rockface’.
The ‘rock face’ has been developing in conjunction with the precast concrete sub contractors involved in the Scottish Parliament and this striking feature will provide the signature to the development. Rising above the pedestrian route along the front of the building with landscaped mounding softening the junction between hard landscape and the ‘rock face’ this facetted element is formed by 90 individual units each 8m high and 2m wide.

A zinc clad floating roof plane has been developed oversailing the ‘rock face’ rising and falling at various points along it’s length forming a fractured plane. This floating roof plane links various elements along the length of the building and assists in screening plant when viewed from the M77.

The crystal shaped glass entrances supported on bespoke ‘spike’ column steelwork and stainless steel rod rigging cant back towards the building with the support columns reducing in size as they reach the ground. Each entrance forms a dramatic counterpoint to the mass of the rockface revealing the interior of the building beyond.