Stirling Offices, Castle Business Park, Office Buildings Scotland, Architect, Design

Castle Business Park Stirling

Commercial Office Property at Castle Business Park, Scotland

post updated 1 July 2023

Design: Michael Laird Architects (MLA)

for Central Scotland Business Parks Limited by Michael Laird Architects

The landscape for Castle Business Park Stirling was by Ian White Associates, Stirling.

Castle Business Park in Stirling

The buildings are a reinterpretation of the existing two storey cruciform buildings presently located on the Business Park retaining the key design principles but with the inclusion of certain design features to enhance the clarity of the building form.

The form of the buildings reflect the simplicity of the design philosophy and of the hierarchy of the building elements consisting of two storey accommodation in the form of two L-shaped elements linked by a double height entrance area.

Stirling Business Park : images from Michael Laird Architects

The entrance space forms the social hub of the Castle Business Park building containing the main circulation stair and lift with extensive areas of glazing to both facades and to the roof to ensure a bright and lively space.

The entrance/core area has been designed to accommodate links between the office suites to allow for maximum flexibility of subdivision into individual suites (a maximum of four per floor) as required.

The L shape forms containing the office suites are orientated to take advantage of this prime setting by allowing unique views over the Business Park and the surrounding area. The roof form is simple and uncluttered which unifies the office space below and clearly expresses the L shaped forms. All mechanical plant is contained with the roof void and therefore unsightly protrusions are avoided.

The facades have been designed to differentiate between the ground and first floor levels. The puncture windows on the first floor form a strong repetitive device bringing order and clarity to the facades. All window units are glazed to the floor level to allow for maximum daylighting and transparency.

The three buildings have been located on the site to encourage interaction between each of the occupants by forming landscaped courtyards in the spaces between each of the buildings.

The pallet of materials for the buildings is based on the materials currently used throughout the Castle Business Park, namely reconstituted stone, rendered panels, slate roofs and aluminium framed windows.

The ground floor is a white rendered envelope with punctured windows forming the base for the building. The structural columns are expressed at ground floor and form a unifying colonnade around the perimeter of the buildings.

The first floor is a reconstituted stone envelope cantilevering beyond the ground floor to express the structural logic of the building where the external skin is in fact non load bearing.

The slate roof is simple in form unifying the elements below. Roof lights are also incorporated within the flat ridge and the gable ends to enliven the space below.

Other Scottish buildings by Michael Laird Architects include the RBSheadquarters and various Standard Life Edinburgh offices.