A Building in the Right Place

The former British Home Stores Building occupies a prominent position on Sauchiehall Street. Surrounded by key routes, public transport links, in close proximity to the Royal Concert Hall, Conservatoire and many small local grass route venues, it sits in a location that feels naturally suited to a new kind of public, cultural use. Its centrality and visibility make it particularly appropriate for a music centre. Somewhere that depends on accessibility, footfall, connection to the wider urban fabric and music venues. The building itself is substantial in scale, offering generous footplates that could accommodate a mix of performance, rehearsal and community spaces.

A Building Waiting to be Reimagined

The building was built in 1964 by GW Clarke is a strong example of modernist design – solid, repetitive and unapologetically bold. Its façade can feel stern, even unwelcoming at first glance, with a heaviness that sets it apart from the more decorative historic surroundings. Yet, the more time you spend looking at it, the more the harshness begins to soften. There is a quiet rhythm to it that becomes increasingly compelling. Having stood empty since 2016 and, more recently, been added to the building’s at-risk register in 2024, it now stands in stark contrast to its past life as a hive of retail activity. Where it once contributed to the energy and movement of the street, it now feels paused, waiting. There is a strong sense that it doesn’t need replacing, but rather reimagined. Its robust, enduring structure suggests potential, waiting for new life to be breathed into it, transforming it into an open, active and culturally driven space once again

Make Space is located in the heart of Hillhead, based in the old Hillhead Baptist Church at 33 Cresswell Street.

The site was built in 1883 by Scottish Architect Thomas Lennox Watson in the Greek Revival style. In 1884, the Hillhead Baptist Church Congregation moved into the building, remaining there until 2015 when structural issues forced them to vacate. Eleven years later, the church still remains unoccupied.

The building has two entrances, both located on Cresswell Street, which lie at different floor heights due to the street’s incline. The multiple entrance heights divide the site into two distinct sections: The Main Gallery & Tryst Hall. The main gallery, consists of three floors and can be accessed through one of the three primary blue doors, which are framed by two cast iron lamps. Tryst Hall is a double-height space with a mezzanine on the North wall. It sits a metre below the main gallery and is the secondary entrance to the site.