Nichtoffener Wettbewerb | 01/2013
Redevelopment of George Square
Finalist
Landschaftsarchitektur
Erläuterungstext
George Square is Glasgow’s premier urban space, a long rectangle in the central grid housing the impressive City Chambers and an important collection of public monuments. Site of protests and city wide celebrations, in recent years the replacement of much of the original grass and trees with a red tarmac surface has facilitated events but leaves a desolate space when unused. The city council launched an international design competition to create a square of outstanding design quality in anticipation of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
A first priority is to affirm the civic importance of the square, keeping the space whole and mainly open, whilst creating more intimate scale places where people can settle and stay. We create an enduring base of stone and symbol, a flat centre to the square laid out ceremoniously before City Chambers, flanked to the south by a gallery of statues, the existing bronze figures regrouped in an open work with possibilities for the future. To the north, at a slightly higher level a generous band of light foliaged trees forms a balcony: seating, play and light, bell like shelters suspended in the canopy encourage people to pause and enjoy the rare and precious slanting sunlight.
The square celebrates Glasgow’s climate. The stone surface of the central square is a pattern of subtle variations of surface finish , reflecting the changing skies and reacting differently to the frequent rain. This reflectivity and intensification is continued in a reflecting mirror of retractable water to the west, multiplying the light and reflecting the architectural heritage of the square.
This base structure supports the central purpose of the square – its animation by its citizens.
The open central space permits a wide range of events, and moveable floral planters can be configured to suit. Lighting, sound and reactive and digital animations are provided in a range of intensities, using always the same supporting elements: the façades, four masts on the edges of the square, the statues, the bells, and above all the grove. At special times, the rhythms of the city and
weather are translated into light and sound- the acoustic bells whisper poems, rapidly changing webs of light dance in the square, statues fade in and out, and building façades are like a graphic equalizer, pulsing with the city beat.
Project: Redevelopment of George Square, Glasgow
Client: Glasgow City Council
Design team: Agence Ter (Lead Consultants and Landscape Architects), Heneghan Peng Architects
(Architects), Atmos (Artistic Consultant), Aecom (Sound Consultant), Bartenbach Lichtlabor (Lighting
Consultant), Buro Happold (Engineering Consultant), Gardiner and Theobald (Cost Consultant)
Budget: £15 million (tax exclusive)
Surface: 2 ha
Timescale: competition 2013
A first priority is to affirm the civic importance of the square, keeping the space whole and mainly open, whilst creating more intimate scale places where people can settle and stay. We create an enduring base of stone and symbol, a flat centre to the square laid out ceremoniously before City Chambers, flanked to the south by a gallery of statues, the existing bronze figures regrouped in an open work with possibilities for the future. To the north, at a slightly higher level a generous band of light foliaged trees forms a balcony: seating, play and light, bell like shelters suspended in the canopy encourage people to pause and enjoy the rare and precious slanting sunlight.
The square celebrates Glasgow’s climate. The stone surface of the central square is a pattern of subtle variations of surface finish , reflecting the changing skies and reacting differently to the frequent rain. This reflectivity and intensification is continued in a reflecting mirror of retractable water to the west, multiplying the light and reflecting the architectural heritage of the square.
This base structure supports the central purpose of the square – its animation by its citizens.
The open central space permits a wide range of events, and moveable floral planters can be configured to suit. Lighting, sound and reactive and digital animations are provided in a range of intensities, using always the same supporting elements: the façades, four masts on the edges of the square, the statues, the bells, and above all the grove. At special times, the rhythms of the city and
weather are translated into light and sound- the acoustic bells whisper poems, rapidly changing webs of light dance in the square, statues fade in and out, and building façades are like a graphic equalizer, pulsing with the city beat.
Project: Redevelopment of George Square, Glasgow
Client: Glasgow City Council
Design team: Agence Ter (Lead Consultants and Landscape Architects), Heneghan Peng Architects
(Architects), Atmos (Artistic Consultant), Aecom (Sound Consultant), Bartenbach Lichtlabor (Lighting
Consultant), Buro Happold (Engineering Consultant), Gardiner and Theobald (Cost Consultant)
Budget: £15 million (tax exclusive)
Surface: 2 ha
Timescale: competition 2013