Functionality and beauty in the autumn forest façade of the Glasgow Fort Car Park in Scotland

When we think of a car park, we always associate it with a functional space, often unattractive and lacking in natural light. The Glasgow Fort Car Park is a project developed by the architectural façade provider, Maple, which partnered with the contractor McLaughlin & Harvey and the architect Cooper Cromar, confirming that there are other ways of beautifying spaces that would otherwise at best go unnoticed.

Maple wanted IMAR to be part of this small but ambitious project by manufacturing a 700 m² metal double skin employing IMAR IMAGING and weathering steel. The result is an image of an autumnal forest. The project was designed to increase parking capacity by 25%, and Maple explains that Glasgow Fort: “wanted the car park frontage to be beautiful as well as functional” but also “contrasting with the steelwork of the surrounding buildings, and providing stability and strong visual appeal.”

This ‘living art’ façade, as Maple describes it, is inspired by nature and maintains a conceptual discourse supported by the choice of sustainable materials like weathering steel. This material is 100% recyclable and does not need organic coatings to be resistant, safe and non-flammable (Euro Class Al). The ‘living art’ follows its course as the material evolves and changes colour over time, creating a continuous visual dialogue with its surroundings as the years go by.

It is a vibrant wall that stands out for its beauty while housing five floors with 601 parking spaces for the Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre complex.