Dundee waterfront office block: A case of build it and will they come?

The outcry over the office block to be built within yards of the V&A at Dundee waterfront is not surprising.

I can’t say I’m overly enamoured with the block’s appearance either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaAWTTz-1Vc

The impression given in the waterfront flythrough animation is of a hulking great edifice that dominates the space it sits in – not ideal given the rising star status of its near neighbour.

But it is not alone – the flythrough produced last year shows a number of such developments in the area.

The argument from Dundee City Council is that quality office accommodation is required in the waterfront.

With space for 800 staff, the new block and the other mixed-use developments close by will solve that issue.

But this is speculative development which hangs, in large part, on the draw of the V&A.

Only a few hundred yards away is Dundee One, a speculative, high-quality office building that for various reasons has never been close to capacity.

It is a salutary lesson and one I hope the council considered before pressing ahead with such large-scale development so close to Dundee’s new icon.

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