List of tallest buildings and structures in Glasgow

Glasgow, the largest and most populous city in the country of Scotland, has a number of high rise buildings ranging from residential towers, offices, hotels and observation towers which stand at least 40 m (131 ft) in height. The current tallest structure in the city, at 127 metres (417 ft), is the Glasgow Tower, an observation tower within the Glasgow Science Centre. It holds a Guinness World Record for being the tallest tower in the world in which the whole structure is capable of rotating 360 degrees.^[1] The Glasgow University Tower stands at 85m, making it the city's tallest building. Meanwhile, four buildings in Springburn (the two western tower blocks of the Balgrayhill high-rise estate, and the two tower blocks at Croftbank Street) stand as the tallest continuously habitable buildings in the city at 78m, each with 26 storeys. The Ard was approved by Glasgow City Council in August 2024. With 36 storeys, and standing at 114 m (374 ft), the building will become the tallest building in both Glasgow and Scotland upon completion.^[2] The city's Cineworld building is currently the tallest cinema building in the world.^[3]

The Glasgow Tower, completed in 2001, at 127 m (417 ft) tall

St Andrew House, completed in 1964 and 71 m (233 ft) tall

Cineworld Glasgow, the tallest cinema complex in the world at 62 m (203 ft) tall

History of Glasgow skyline

Pre-war

The first tall building to have been constructed in Glasgow, and considered Scotland's first skyscraper, was the 91 m (299 ft) tall Tait Tower in Bellahouston, built for the Empire Exhibition of 1938, but was later demolished the following year.^[4]

Post-war: 1954-2000

The origin of Glasgow's high rise building "boom" of the 1960s and 1970s began with the publication of the Bruce Report in 1945, which was a set of proposals to address the city's chronic overcrowding and inner city decay through a comprehensive redevelopment of the city's inner area. The city's infamous slum districts would be knocked down, and their populations dispersed out to new housing estates located on the city's periphery. The city centre would also be completely rebuilt to a new design (on Modernist principles), but most of the report's ideas were rejected. The 10-storey Moss Heights in the city's Cardonald district were completed in 1954, and were effectively the first social housing tower blocks to be constructed in the city.

Glasgow College of Building and Printing, constructed in 1963 (now known as the Met Tower), was one of the first high rises to be built in the city centre.

By the 1960s, Glasgow Corporation had identified a series of Comprehensive Development Areas (CDAs), where overcrowding and life-expired housing was at its most serious. In the end, 29 CDAs were created, the most infamous being the Gorbals, which the Corporation used as a "test bed" for various multi-storey housing developments in tower blocks at the turn of the 1960s. All of its tenement slums were destroyed, and replaced by high-rise schemes designed by prominent architects of the period such as Basil Spence and Robert Matthew. The initial success of the Gorbals schemes then led onto the mass construction of other clusters of high rise tower blocks in various sites around the city, making Glasgow the first truly high rise city in Britain. Some of these "schemes" were planned suburbs, created from scratch - such as Red Road. Although the radical ideas for the city centre contained in the Bruce Report were not carried through, its influence was felt through the construction of a cluster of high rise office and educational buildings in the city centre during the early 1960s, such as St Andrew House, the Met Tower and the Livingstone Tower.

During the 1970s, Glasgow was considered to be the tallest city in Europe as a result of its number of high rise buildings, particularly tower blocks. During this period, it was known as the "high rise capital of Europe".^[5] In 1977, the corporation (or Glasgow District Council as it was now known) completed what would be the last social housing high-rise tower block at 22 Dundasvale Court in the Cowcaddens district.

It would not be until 1988 that high-rises were built in the city once again, with the construction of the 17-storey Forum Hotel (latterly the Moat House International Hotel, and now the Crowne Plaza Hotel) next to the SECC. The 20-storey Hilton Hotel in Anderston followed in 1992. From the early 1990s, Glasgow City Council and its successor, the Glasgow Housing Association, have run a programme of demolishing the worst of the residential tower blocks, including Basil Spence's Hutchesontown C blocks in 1993.^[6]

2001–present

Central Quay (58m tall), was completed in 2024

It was not until the opening of the Glasgow Tower (127 m (417 ft))^[7] in 2001 that a structure surpassed the height of both the Red Road and Bluevale and Whitevale Towers. Glasgow Tower was considered a world first, mostly because of its "very innovative engineering structure that represents some of the best principles and applications of large-scale engineering design and construction".^[8] During build design and construction, a complex would typically have one or more prototypes created to "prove the design before constructing a production model".^[8] Given the scope of Glasgow Tower structure, this was deemed impossible and unachievable. As a result, the concept which had been created by designers "had to be proven in place" once the structure had been complete.^[8] With the untested design, the Glasgow Tower initially had a number of issues following its completion, ranging from the lift to the observation deck getting stuck, as well as "strain on the thrust bearing".^[8] The original thrust bearing which had been used during the construction of the tower was found to be incompatible with the structure and was ultimately replaced. The tower is jacked up annually by "up to half a metre" using a total of four hydraulic jacks, allowing the bearing to "be inspected or removed if required". During the annual maintenance routine, the bearing of the tower also "receives a synthetic grease treatment which is injected under high pressure and works its way along the grease channels on the bearing" which is considered vital to ensure the tower continues to turn smoothly.^[8]

In September 2001, the world's tallest cinema building, Cineworld Glasgow, opened and stands at 62 m (203 ft).^[9][10][11] Other notable skyscrapers to be constructed across Glasgow during the 2000s decade include the 62 m (203 ft) Argyle Building, and the Bridle Works Building. Recent developments during the 2010s and 2020s include the 58m tall Central Quay and Buchanan Wharf at 54m. The Ard was formally approved by Glasgow City Council in August 2024. The 36 storey, 114m tower will become the tallest habitable building in both Glasgow and Scotland upon completion.^[12]

In August 2024, construction began on City Wharf, a combination of student accommodation and BTR residential units, including a 28–storey 87 m (285 ft) tower, in the Anderston Quay area of the city. Plans were submitted to Glasgow City Council in April 2023 for "almost 1,000 homes" to be constructed on a "landmark location".^[13] The developer, Dandara Living, said that following "a series of public consultations", the company believed that their "application offers a terrific opportunity to create a development that reflects its unique and highly visible location".^[13] In May 2023, Dandara Living altered the existing plans submitted to Glasgow City Council in order to seek planning permission to erect a memorial to commemorate the Cheapside Street whisky bond fire on 28 March 1960, a fire which cost 19 people their lives and is considered "to be the worst post-war fire services disaster".^[14] Upon its completion, the tower will become the second tallest building in Glasgow, surpassing the University of Glasgow Tower which stands at 85 m (279 ft).^[15]

Recent developments

Glasgow City Centre skyline in September 2023

Since the late 1990s, property developers have been planning new upmarket residential and office high-rises along the River Clyde, and in the city's financial district, which would far surpass existing buildings in height. Several proposed skyscrapers, such as Elphinstone Place which would have become the tallest in the city and in Scotland, were cancelled for financial reasons.

In 2024, Glasgow City Council carried out its first ever detailed consultation on its future high-rise building policy,^[16][17] publishing a "Tall Building Design Guide" in May 2025. The report still did not formally establish a definite height restriction, but merely established the areas where high rise construction in the city centre would be "least favourable" or "most favourable", and therefore most likely to be approved. The report highlighted a number of key areas:^[18]

• A formal definition of "tall", depending on the overall context of surrounding buildings. Three separate scales, known as 'Local', 'District' and 'Metropolitan' are defined:
  • Local: A building 2 times the height of the broader context (other structures within a 150m radius)
  • District: A building 2-3.5 times the height of the broader context (other structures within a 400m radius)
  • Metropolitan: A building 3.5 times or greater the height of the broader context (structures that can be seen city-wide from key vantage points such as the Campsie Fells or Cathkin Braes, in addition to the 400m context of "District" buildings)
• Within the existing Glasgow Central Conservation Area (GCCA), where the tallest structures are predominantly the spires and steeples of Victorian/Edwardian churches, permitted high rise development would be defined as "least favourable".
• Five clusters were identified where high rise construction (on the "Metropolitan" scale (above) would be "most favourable", these being Anderston/Charing Cross to the west, Cowcaddens to the north, Tradeston to the south, and Trongate along with the eastern side of High Street (bordering with the Ladywell/Dennistoun districts) to the east. These areas correlate approximately to where legacy high rise construction from the 1960s and beyond had already taken place.

Panorama of Glasgow (Scotland) from the top of the Lighthouse, as shown in August 2015

Tallest completed buildings and structures

Tallest buildings

Rank	Name	Image	Height	Coordinates	Floors	Year	Primary use	Location and notes
1	Glasgow Tower		127 m (417 ft)	55.859248°N 4.296229°W / 55.859248; -4.296229 (Glasgow Tower/Millennium Tower)	01.02	2001	Observation tower	Holds a Guinness World Record as the tallest tower in the world in which the whole structure can rotate 360 degrees.[19][20][21]
2	Glasgow University Tower		85 m (279 ft)	55.871348°N 4.288641°W / 55.871348; -4.288641 (University of Glasgow)	04.0?	1887	University	[22][20]
3=	22 Viewpoint Place		78 m (256 ft)	55.891233°N 4.229900°W / 55.891233; -4.229900 (Balgrayhill)	04.026	1964	Residential	Located in Springburn.[23][20][21]
	42 Viewpoint Place		78 m (256 ft)	55.891233°N 4.229900°W / 55.891233; -4.229900 (Balgrayhill)	04.026	1964	Residential	Located in Springburn.[23][20][21]
	15 Croftbank Street		78 m (256 ft)	55.883351°N 4.224550°W / 55.883351; -4.224550 (Springburn)	02.026	1964	Residential	Located in Springburn.[23][20][21]
	250 Edgefauld Road		78 m (256 ft)	55.883351°N 4.224550°W / 55.883351; -4.224550 (Springburn)	02.026	1964	Residential	Located in Springburn.[23][20][21]
7=	2 Taylor Place		75 m (246 ft)	55.864951°N 4.244064°W / 55.864951; -4.244064 (Townhead)	04.025	1967	Residential	Located in Townhead.[24][20][21]
	15 Grafton Place		75 m (246 ft)	55.864951°N 4.244064°W / 55.864951; -4.244064 (Townhead)	04.025	1967	Residential	Located in Townhead.[24][20][21]
	12 Dobbie's Loan Place[24][20]		75 m (246 ft)	55.864951°N 4.244064°W / 55.864951; -4.244064 (Townhead)	04.025	1967	Residential	Located in Townhead.[24][20][21]
	7 St. Mungo Place[24][20]		75 m (246 ft)	55.864951°N 4.244064°W / 55.864951; -4.244064 (Townhead)	04.025	1967	Residential	Located in Townhead.[24][20][21]
	178 Balgrayhill Road		75 m (246 ft)	55.891233°N 4.229900°W / 55.891233; -4.229900 (Balgrayhill)	04.025	1964	Residential	Highest man-made point above sea level within Glasgow city boundary. Located in Springburn.[23][20][21]
	198 Balgrayhill Road		75 m (246 ft)	55.891233°N 4.229900°W / 55.891233; -4.229900 (Balgrayhill)	04.025	1964	Residential	Highest man-made point above sea level within Glasgow city boundary. Located in Springburn.[23][20][21]
13	Glasgow City Chambers		73 m (240 ft)	55.860957°N 4.248511°W / 55.860957; -4.248511 (Glasgow City Chambers)	04.04	1889	Government Building	[25][20][21]
14	St. Andrew House		71 m (233 ft)	55.864571°N 4.254194°W / 55.864571; -4.254194 (St Andrew House)	01.018	1964	Hotel	Converted to a Premier Inn hotel in 2012. The rooms on the 18th floor are the highest hotel rooms in the city.[26][20]
15	Hilton Glasgow		70 m (230 ft)	55.861378°N 4.269345°W / 55.861378; -4.269345 (Hilton Glasgow)	01.020	1992	Hotel	[27][20][21]
16=	*4 tower blocks at Sandyhills *5 tower blocks at Knightswood (Kirkton Avenue) *3 tower blocks at Cowcaddens *1 modern apartment block at Glasgow Harbour		69 m (226 ft)		01.022–24	Various	Residential	[28][20][21]
29	Bridle Works Building		68 m (223 ft)	55.862945°N 4.251771°W / 55.862945; -4.251771 (Bridle Works)	01.020	2021	Student accommodation
30=	Anniesland Court		66 m (217 ft)	55.891020°N 4.325166°W / 55.891020; -4.325166 (Anniesland Court)	01.024	1968	Residential	Tallest listed residential building in Scotland. Only tower block to have a Category A listing in Glasgow. Located in Anniesland.[29][30][21]
	*3 tower blocks at Woodside *3 tower blocks at Kennishead		66 m (217 ft)		01.023	Various	Residential	[21]
37=	*2 tower blocks at Dumbreck *2 tower blocks at Pollokshaws *1 tower block at Ibrox *1 tower block at Drumchapel		63 m (207 ft)		01.022	Various	Residential	[21]
43=	Cineworld Glasgow		62 m (203 ft)	55.865115°N 4.254955°W / 55.865115; -4.254955 (Cineworld Glasgow)	16	2001	Cinema	Tallest cinema complex in the world.[31][21]
	Argyle Building		62 m (203 ft)	55.859477°N 4.267824°W / 55.859477; -4.267824 (Argyle Building)	01.020	2008	Residential	[32][21]
46=	*3 tower blocks at Maryhill (Glenavon Road) *1 tower block at Whiteinch		61 m (200 ft)		01.021	Various	Residential	[21]
50	Queen Elizabeth University Hospital		60 m (200 ft)	55.861973°N 4.341239°W / 55.861973; -4.341239 (South Glasgow University Hospital)	14	2015	Hospital	[33]

Other notable tall structures

Buildings with a Wikipedia article and over 50 metres in height.

Name	Image	Height	Coordinates	Floors	Year	Primary use	Notes
Cathkin Braes wind turbine		125 m (410 ft)[A] 80 m (260 ft)[B]	55.797467°N 4.215594°W / 55.797467; -4.215594 (Cathkin Braes wind turbine)		2013	Wind turbine	[34]
Glasgow Cathedral		68.6 m (225 ft)	55.862978°N 4.234668°W / 55.862978; -4.234668 (Glasgow Cathedral)		1197	Cathedral	[35][20][21]
St Andrew's West Church		67 m (220 ft)	55.865206°N 4.266865°W / 55.865206; -4.266865 (St Columba Church)		1852	Church	[36][21]
Websters Theatre		66.5 m (218 ft)	55.874513°N 4.278454°W / 55.874513; -4.278454 (Websters Theatre)		1863	Theatre[C]	[37][21]
St Columba Church		61 m (200 ft)	55.862774°N 4.266768°W / 55.862774; -4.266768 (St Columba Church)		1904	Cathedral	[38][21]
St Mary's Cathedral		60.5 m (198 ft)	55.873397°N 4.275077°W / 55.873397; -4.275077 (St Mary's Cathedral)		1893	Cathedral	[39][21]
Cottiers Theatre		59.5 m (195 ft)	55.874025°N 4.301741°W / 55.874025; -4.301741 (Cottiers Theatre)		1866	Theatre[D]	[40][21]
Block H2 – Central Quay		58 m (190 ft)	55.858559°N 4.2746137°W / 55.858559; -4.2746137 (Central Quay)	20	2022	Residential and retail	Part of Central Quay development
Crowne Plaza Glasgow		55 m (180 ft)	55.860028°N 4.290414°W / 55.860028; -4.290414 (Crowne Plaza Glasgow)	17	1989	Hotel	Part of the SECC.[41]
Buchanan Wharf Towers		54 m (177 ft)	55.854265°N 4.261100°W / 55.854265; -4.261100	02.019	2023	Mixed use	Part of Buchanan Wharf development
Finnieston Crane		53 m (174 ft)	55.858217°N 4.284492°W / 55.858217; -4.284492 (Finnieston Crane)		1931	Cantilever crane	[42]
Elmbank Gardens		53 m (174 ft)	55.865018°N 4.269737°W / 55.865018; -4.269737 (Elmbank Gardens)	15	1973	Hotel	Originally an office block, converted to a hotel in 1995.[43]
Livingstone Tower		52 m (171 ft)	55.860974°N 4.243464°W / 55.860974; -4.243464 (Livingstone Tower)	17	1965	University	Part of the University of Strathclyde.[44]

Tallest under construction, approved, and proposed

Under construction

Name	Height metres / ft	Floors	Year (est.)	Primary Use	Location	Notes
The Ard	114 m (374 ft)	36	2026–27	Student Accommodation	Anderston
2 Central Quay	63 m (207 ft)	21	2027	Mixed Use	Anderston
Vita India Street	61 m (200 ft)	19	2027	Student Accommodation	Anderston

Approved

Name	Height metres / ft	Floors	Year (est.)	Primary Use	Location	Notes
Dandara 'The Stores'	87 m (285 ft)	28	2026	Residential	Anderston Quay	Phase 1 U/C
138 Hydepark Street	87 m (285 ft)	26	2027	Student Accommodation	Anderston Quay	Approved
Carrick & Brown	74 m (243 ft)	24	2028	Student Accommodation	City Centre	Approved
58 Port Dundas Road	70 m (230 ft)	21	2028	Residential	Cowcaddens	Approved
Moda Lancefield Quay	67 m (220 ft)	21	2028	Residential	Lancefield Quay	Approved
144 Port Dundas Road	65 m (213 ft)	19	2028	Residential	Cowcaddens	Approved
70-72A Waterloo Street	59 m (194 ft)	19	2028	Student Accommodation	Cowcaddens	Approved
184 Sauchiehall Street	56 m (184 ft)	18	2028	Student Accommodation	City Centre	Demolition in progress

On hold

Name	Height metres / ft	Floors	Year (est.)	Primary Use	Location	Notes
The Grid	58 m (190 ft)	12	2020	Office	International Financial Services District	On Hold

Proposed

Building Name	Height	Floors	Main Usage	Other Usage
Charing Cross Gateway	86 m (282 ft)	26	Mixed Use
109-115 West Nile Street	61 m (200 ft)	19	Student Accommodation

Unbuilt

Name	Height	Floors	Year	Notes
East One	180 m (590 ft)	55		The tower would have consisted of 196 residential flats, leisure, commercial space and a 96-bed hotel over a space of 12 floors, 100 flat perimeter block and 2 levels of underground parking incorporating 420 spaces.[45]
Cheapside Tower 1	170 m (560 ft)	50		A development comprising three towers: 1, 2 and 3. Each tower would have had accommodation over 50 floors.[46]
Cheapside Tower 2	170 m (560 ft)	50
Cheapside Tower 3	136 m (446 ft)	50
Elphinstone Place	134 m (440 ft)	39		Cancelled due to the 2008 Financial crisis. Now the site of the new Scottish Power HQ.[47]
Elmbank Tower	107.5 m (353 ft)	28		[48]
Glasgow Harbour Tower	93 m (305 ft)	30
Elphinstone Urban Village Tower 1	81 m (266 ft)	27
Graving Docks Tower 1	65 m (213 ft)	21
Elphinstone Urban Village Tower 2	60 m (200 ft)	20

Demolished

Name	Image	Height	Coordinates	Floors	Year built	Year demolished	Notes
Townsend Chimney		138 m (453 ft)	55.8712°N 4.2514°W / 55.8712; -4.2514 (Townsend's Chimney)	N/A	1859	1928	At J. Townsend Chemical Works, Port Dundas. Tallest chimney in the world from 1859 to 1889.[49][50][51][52][53]
Tennant's Stalk		133 m (436 ft)	55.8702°N 4.2346°W / 55.8702; -4.2346 (Tennent's Stalk)	N/A	1842	1922	At the St Rollox Chemical Works, Springburn. Tallest chimney in the world from 1842 to 1859. Demolished after being struck by lightning.[49][50][54][55][53]
Pinkston Power Station cooling tower		94 m (308 ft)	55.8723°N 4.2472°W / 55.8723; -4.2472 (Pinkston)		1952	1976	Largest cooling tower in Europe at time of completion. Complex in Port Dundas (providing energy for the Glasgow Corporation Tramways) also included two 263 ft (80 m) chimney stacks.[56][57][58]
Tait Tower		91.4 m (300 ft)	55.8455°N 4.3181°W / 55.8455; -4.3181 (Tait Tower)	?	1938	1939	Built as part of the 1938 Empire Exhibition.
Bluevale and Whitevale Towers (2)		90.8 m (298 ft)	55.8559°N 4.2155°W / 55.8559; -4.2155 (Gallowgate)	30	1968	2015	109 Bluevale Street and 51 Whitevale Street. Tallest inhabitable buildings in Scotland from time of completion to time of demolition. Located in Gallowgate.[59]
Red Road Flats (6 - 'point' blocks)		89 m (292 ft)	55.8803°N 4.2082°W / 55.8803; -4.2082 (Red Road)	31	1967	2015[E]	21 Birnie Court, 33 Petershill Drive, 63 Petershill Drive, 93 Petershill Drive, 123 Petershill Drive and 10 Red Road Court. Tallest residential buildings in Europe at the time of completion.[60] Located in Balornock / Barmulloch.
Wyndford Road towers (4)		78 m (256 ft)	55.8874°N 4.2955°W / 55.8874; -4.2955 (Wyndford Road)	04.026	1964	2025[61]	120 Wyndford Road, 151 Wyndford Road, 171 Wyndford Road, 191 Wyndford Road. Located in Wyndford (Maryhill).[62][20]
Red Road Flats (2 - 'slab' blocks)		78 m (256 ft)	55.8800°N 4.2068°W / 55.8800; -4.2068 (Red Road)	28	1967	2015[F]	10-30 Petershill Court, 153-213 Petershill Court.[60]
Clydesdale Bank Tower		73 m (240 ft)	55.8589°N 4.2951°W / 55.8589; -4.2951 (Clydesdale Bank Tower)	1	1987	1989	Built for the Glasgow Garden Festival, later moved to Rhyl in Wales.[63]
Roystonhill towers (3)		72 m (236 ft)	55.8676°N 4.2239°W / 55.8676; -4.2239 (Rosemount Street)	25	1967	2016[G]	240 Roystonhill, 20 Rosemount Street, 40 Rosemount Street. Located in Royston.[64]
Gorbals towers (10)		69 m (226 ft)		01.024	Various	Various	Four slab blocks at Laurieston (Norfolk Court), two blocks at Sandiefield Road, four blocks at Hutchesontown (Caledonia Road). Located in the Gorbals.[21]

See also

• Glasgow tower blocks
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Edinburgh
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Scotland

Notes

1. including rotating blades with 45 m (148 ft) length
2. base 'hub' unit only.
3. Converted from church
4. Converted from church
5. 2013 for Birnie Court.
6. 2012 for 153-213 Petershill Court.
7. 1992 for 240 Roystonhill, 2013 for 20 Rosemount Street.