Glasgow

By Miranda

Placemaking Collective UK’s visit to Glasgow in October 2022  was a first for several reasons. It was our first visit to Scotland and the first time we ran a field trip over two days. An afternoon simply wouldn’t have done the city justice. All of our hosts offered fascinating insights into the future of the city and gave our intrepid group, who braved all the elements – from torrential rain to sunny skies –a front-row seat to Glasgow’s ongoing transformations.

The change coming to the city is guided by its past, but is in no way defined by it. With involvement from all voices around the table - community, public and private sector - there’s a collective effort to shape what feels like a truly exciting future, aiming to stitch the city back together. Not without challenges, but you could sense the direction ahead for the city and understand why everywhere you look there are signs saying ‘People Make Glasgow’.

The two-day itinerary was put together by Marc Cairns, Managing Director of New Practice. Marc and his team have been involved in many of the major projects taking place in Glasgow and we couldn’t have asked for a better host. It was a privilege to hear his insights, understanding his passion for Glasgow and its future.

We began our visit by crossing the River Clyde and meeting Paul Stallan of Stallan-Brand. To understand the current transformations, Paul provided us with a quick, but informative talk on the history of Glasgow. Like New Practice, Stallan-Brand has been playing a major role in shaping the future landscape of Glasgow, and to understand and appreciate the future ahead, insights into the past were key.

We then went to three projects that Paul and his team have been involved in over the past decade: the regeneration and new housing in Laurieston, the Barclays campus on the banks of River Clyde, and the creative and cultural hub of SWG3. All very different schemes, but each playing a significant part in stitching the city back together.

A particular shout out to Mutley and his team at SWG3. It was such a dynamic, albeit brief, stop on our visit. On our site tour, we took in the set-up for Bongo’s Bingo and heard more about the recently unveiled initiative of BODYHEAT, which transforms the excess body heat at SWG3 gigs and events into a source of energy to help reduce the building’s carbon footprint. In addition to the event spaces, there are office suits, artists studios and micro manufacturing units in the building, catering for the different needs of Glasgow. We took a stroll in the vast community garden covered in trees that were originally part of the New York Times Climate Hub (hosted at SWG3) during COP26 - our visit coinciding with the approaching one-year anniversary from the global climate conference. 

We finished our first day getting a true flavour for a typical day at SWG3 with an exhibition opening party and cocktails. Anyone visiting Glasgow must come to SWG3 to see and enjoy first-hand the array of opportunities this place has to offer, embracing the ‘work hard, play hard’ ethos. The start has been transformative and there are more plans still to come in this part of town.

Day 2 took us to the city centre to learn about two major emerging regeneration schemes. Our day started with Paola Pasino from Glasgow City Council who took us through the transformation for George Square and the surrounding avenues. George Square has a rich history, being the major civic space in Glasgow. It was fascinating to learn more about the engagement process and understand the vision for such a significant public space. Paola met us at the City Chambers Building, a historic gem in Glasgow. Built in 1888 overlooking George Square, it was a real treat for us all to explore its stunning interiors.

Our last stop, just a stone’s throw away from George Square, was with the LandSec Team and Finlay Munro, who led our group around Buchanan Galleries. As one of the major retail destinations in Glasgow, and in the aftermath of COVID-19, Buchanan Galleries has faced many challenges in recent years. The re-development of Buchanan Galleries will see the existing shopping centre replaced by a new mixed-use neighbourhood that aims - like every project we’ve seen over the two days - to re-connect a divided city centre. It is still early days for this scheme, but one that, when complete, has the potential to truly transform Glasgow’s city centre.

We had a great visit to Glasgow seeing major projects underway and hope to return soon to see how things have progressed.