The Ard

The Ard (Scottish Gaelic: An Àrd, meaning "high"), is a 36-storey high-rise under construction in the Blythswood Hill area of Glasgow, Scotland. The development was formally submitted to Glasgow City Council in 2021 by Watkin Jones Group, with the original proposals seeking to construct a 33-storey "co-living" development in Glasgow City Centre. New plans submitted in 2023 saw the removal of one of the original proposed towers, and the reduction in size to a 30-storey tower. In December 2023, an updated plan was submitted, proposing a 35-storey building rising to 114 m above ground level. The final plans, consisting of a 36-storey student accommodation tower, were approved by Glasgow City Council in August 2024. Slated for completion in the third quarter of 2028, The Ard will become the tallest habitable building in Glasgow and Scotland, surpassing the Balgrayhill tower blocks in the city's Springburn area, although the 127 m (417 ft) Glasgow Tower will remain as the tallest free standing structure in both Glasgow and Scotland. The Ard will also have the highest floor count of any structure previously constructed in the city; that title having previously been held by the now-demolished Red Road Flats which topped out at 31 storeys.