r/GlasgowArchitecture

https://maps.app.goo.gl/X8SyaRjbih4Ramp9A

Statues of Trade and Commerce on the corner of probably the ugliest (against some hefty competition) large Victorian building in Glasgow - John Burnet's clunky, clumsy, badly detailed and late 1870s Stock Exchange on Buchanan Street.

The inside was completely gutted of original details and changed from 4 floors to 6 in 1970.

Source: https://x.com/boys\_nicholas/status/2086362136914137312?s=20

Detail of the door at 77 St Vincent Street to a building housing offices above shops by the London architect J.J. Stevenson, 1875-78.

Respice Finem is a contraction of "quidquid agis, prudenter agas et respice finem"
("whatever you do, do it wisely and consider the end").

I live in Glasgow, and I've never seen this before. I was on my way back from the gym, and my usual bus stop was unavailable due to roadworks, so I walked further than normal, and saw this. I only managed to take on picture before my bus arrived, but the architecture seems unusual, and there's a strange (masonic?) Symbol.

Can anyone shed some light on who might have made this building, and when? And, perhaps most importantly, why?

87 St Vincent Street has yet more of those industrious putti that are all over the city.
Unknown architect, but in the style of David Rhind, c. 1860.

We need more housing in Glasgow and I get that the "shipping containers" are cheap to build. But I feel like these wouldn't cost loads of money for developers.

What do you guys think?

Original photo from Past Glasgow: https://x.com/PastGlasgow/status/2087545264429051986?s=20

Method
I asked Gemini to apply the five core principles of traditional and gentle urban architecture: human scale, visual order, definition, hierarchy, and biophilia. By adding definition to the top, structure to the middle, and warmth/order to the bottom, the building transitions from an oversized monolithic block into a grounded, dignified part of the streetscape.

Instructions Edit this photo of a modern rust-coloured cladded building on a Glasgow street corner. Keep the existing building form, massing, window layout, and cladding material exactly as they are — do not change the structure or add new floors. Apply only these surface-level architectural improvements:

• Add a projecting cornice/parapet cap in dark bronze or anthracite aluminium along the full roofline of the building, including around the stepped-back upper block, to give the top a defined edge.

• Add a horizontal band or string course in a contrasting dark tone at the level where the ground/retail floor meets the floors above, running the full width of the façade.

• Add a projecting canopy in dark metal and glass over the main entrance, large enough to clearly mark it as the entrance, roughly centred on the most prominent door.

• Add simple window boxes with green planting along the ground-floor retail frontage.

• Add 2–3 semi-mature street trees on the pavement in front of the building, consistent with the existing street layout, lamp posts, and traffic lights.

• Tidy the ground-floor signage into a single consistent fascia band rather than the current mixed colours and fonts.