Argyle Street.

An art gallery treatment for Argyle Street.

The Situation

Our expertise was sought to enhance a run down and tired block of shops within Glasgow’s fast developing International Financial Services District.  With the dilapidated block in close proximity to the prestigious Radisson hotel, something had to be done quickly to inject life back into the retail, street-facing element of the site without relying on new tenants or the luxury of a big redevelopment budget. 

What We Did

Working collaboratively we worked up a concept which combined street art with poster positions to create an art gallery. World renowned Australian street artist Sam Bates created eye-catching artworks which adorned our hoardings and the poster units were housed in gilt-edged picture frames to enhance the art gallery effect.  As many of our advertiser clients are local cultural and art groups, we knew their posters would look great as unique and interesting works of art.

We rejected simply sheeting the entire street facing elevation and instead set out to maintain the neglected entrances to the upper floors; this involved extensive cleaning to restore the facade to a creditable level so that the enhancement gave the impression that the building was still functional. Everything about our approach from working closely with the landlord and local authority to the high impact concept and our meticulous clean-down, build and on-going Duty of Care demonstrated TPA’s commitment to delivering a lasting transformative effect to the streetscape.

The Benefits

A tired and run down vacant block of empty retail units has been truly transformed into a landmark space full of energy and life. The site has generated huge buzz amongst the general public and tourists alike and helped restore civic pride in the area amongst its commercial residents.  With TPA maintaining the site to our high standards, the local authority and landlords no longer have to contend with the financial and resource burden of the site in its run-down state.