Princes Square
Encyclopedia
Princes Square is a shopping centre on Buchanan Street
in central Glasgow
, Scotland
. It was developed in 1986 to a design by Edinburgh architects, the Hugh Martin Partnership. The new five-storey, 10450 sqm retail centre occupies a pre-existing cobbled square dating from 1841, which was reconfigured by enclosing the entire space below a new clear glass domed and vaulted roof. An expansion was completed in summer 1999, extending the centre into Springfield Court and providing a further 1860 sqm of retail area and a new retail frontage to Queen Street.
The original cellars of the existing buildings were excavated to provide additional space. Inside the square, new galleries and stairs give access to the upper storeys. The original sandstone facades were preserved around the modern interior. The centre is adorned with decorative glass, tiling, lighting, timber and metalwork, designed by artists and craftsmen.
The writer Bill Bryson
referred to Princes Square as "one of the most intelligent pieces of urban renewal".
The Hugh Martin Partnership earned several design awards for Princes Square, including the RIBA
Scottish Regional Award for Architecture (1988), the Edinburgh Architectural Association Centenary Medal (1989), and a Civic Trust Award (1989). The original fabric has been protected as a category B listed building since 1970.
Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street.-History:...
in central Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was developed in 1986 to a design by Edinburgh architects, the Hugh Martin Partnership. The new five-storey, 10450 sqm retail centre occupies a pre-existing cobbled square dating from 1841, which was reconfigured by enclosing the entire space below a new clear glass domed and vaulted roof. An expansion was completed in summer 1999, extending the centre into Springfield Court and providing a further 1860 sqm of retail area and a new retail frontage to Queen Street.
The original cellars of the existing buildings were excavated to provide additional space. Inside the square, new galleries and stairs give access to the upper storeys. The original sandstone facades were preserved around the modern interior. The centre is adorned with decorative glass, tiling, lighting, timber and metalwork, designed by artists and craftsmen.
The writer Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
referred to Princes Square as "one of the most intelligent pieces of urban renewal".
The Hugh Martin Partnership earned several design awards for Princes Square, including the RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
Scottish Regional Award for Architecture (1988), the Edinburgh Architectural Association Centenary Medal (1989), and a Civic Trust Award (1989). The original fabric has been protected as a category B listed building since 1970.