It’s funny how you can go to two different places and end up in the same place. I was in Glasgow the other day, walking up Bath Street, and a couple of days later I was in Bolton, walking down Deane Street, and there was a new building on Bath Street and a new building on Deane Street that looked exactly the same: same design, same materials, same look. It’s called the anywhere factor: two places, same place, and it’s getting worse.

The anywhere factor first came about in British architecture and design because there are some architects – only some, but enough to have a significant effect – who design a building without properly considering where it will go: the context, the heritage, the buildings round about it. Glasgow and Bolton share a story in some ways – a story of industry and Empire – but in most respects they’re different and landing them with two versions of the same building is to ignore their individual histories, their look, their atmosphere. They are distinctive places; they are not just anywhere.

The latest example of the anywhere factor – a particularly egregious example – is the plan for the site on Sauchiehall Street down the hill from the Glasgow School of Art. Until a few months ago, it was where the old ABC cinema was but there was a fire you’ll remember – always a fire – and there’s been discussion ever since about what should go up in its place. This week we got a look at what it might be. Prepare yourselves.

From the front, it’s very like the buildings I saw in Bath Street and Bolton: an anywhere building built with anywhere steel and anywhere bricks. The plan is for 356 student flats with food halls and cafes underneath and the developers, Vita, say it’ll “generate economic benefits, re-energise Sauchiehall Street and contribute to the city’s Golden Z ambitions”. But we know what’s going on here really: cheapo student flats allow for maximum profit in a way better quality accommodation........

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