The Hidden Glasgow Forums

off topic slightly, but i remember when i was but a lad skating through george square and we were stopped by a council worker who drove up to us in his 1.5 tonne works truck with lawn mower etc in the back, and proceeded to tell us that our (1.5 inch diameter rubber) wheels would damage the concrete and we were to "get lost" before he called the police...... tit.

really, so red concrete can take the battering from your works truck and all the tents and shite you put up and down in the square, yet 3 boys skating will cause untold damage to the surface?

This kind of thing really is a joke, who wants cafe culture on one of the busiest transport nodes in urban Scotland, surely the Greggs where you can nip in and run away with your food before you choke is sufficient.

On a side note however, I'm about to (finally) start work on my dissertation which focuses on the history, current management and problems faced (caused?) by its alternative users.

Shame theres no George Square project on here

only just managed to make my first post there, I'm usually not a lurker...

excoriate wrote:On a side note however, I'm about to (finally) start work on my dissertation which focuses on the history, current management and problems faced (caused?) by its alternative users.

Shame theres no George Square project on here

I'm quite sure people would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to post away in this thread

My Mum and Dad met in George Square during a CND demo in the 60s. He turned up for the demo even though he had pleurisy and my mum took pity on him.

Well GCC are now inviting architects to enter into competition to come up with a design for a 70 seater cafe in George Square.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/32604.html

Now can this be done in a way that doesn't just destroy the square?

Will it be a pointless waste of time and money putting a cafe there?

What should the mighty competitors be considering, given there will no doubt be many who have never been to Glasgow never mind George Square...

And, can we come up with something better?

Lets see your ideas and hear your thoughts. And please, no glass pyramids or boxes.

I think that we should take a look at Paris for our George Sq inspiration.
Like the 300 M area on the banks of the Seine we should cover the whole lot in sand! There you have it Glasgow Beach!As for an outdoor cafe,what about a couple of ice cream vans better still GDC can raise a few bob by renting out deck chairs.
Whatever happens the one legged pidgons are still going to shit on you as you feast on Greggs sausage rolls

Well, here my suggestion: a neat little doorway hidden discretely behind the cenotaph or information thing. This would lead under the Square, which would be excavated and reinforced to provide a recreational area with cafe's, shops, access to Queen St station etc. etc.

Given the realistic comment about the weather above, the cafe walls would be flat screen displays, relaying the scenes above, to give the visitors the illusion of being on an open air cafe. When it rains, the live scene can be switched for recorded summer footage.

Guess it couldn't happen though, apart from being sensible by preserving what's left of the Square, they'd never explain the council bunker that's down there already

Pehaps the whole thing could be on a hydraulic platform, so it could be "put away" when there were other events on....

I haven't got too far with what I'd like to see it look like but it HAS to have a podium for dancers... hmmm noooo, for preachers and speakers to stand on.

It should probably also have some good strong verticals, as thats kinda reflected everywhere in the sqaure.... and something more organic in shape AND well... i'd like to see some glazed bricks and mosaic - a bit of colour

Perhaps quite a big play could be made on the materials LOTS of materials used in other glasgow buildings...rather than the shape... ooooooooooo fun fun fun

Sharon wrote:Pehaps the whole thing could be on a hydraulic platform, so it could be "put away" when there were other events on....

Well, Gerry Anderson managed it 40 years ago.

Cumbo wrote:

I think that we should take a look at Paris for our George Sq inspiration.
Like the 300 M area on the banks of the Seine we should cover the whole lot in sand! There you have it Glasgow Beach!As for an outdoor cafe,what about a couple of ice cream vans better still GDC can raise a few bob by renting out deck chairs.
Whatever happens the one legged pidgons are still going to shit on you as you feast on Greggs sausage rolls

Joking aside this is not a bad idea at all. Check out what Paris does with the square in front of its Hotel De Ville:

http://www.pps.org/gps/one?public_place_id=352#

This is what George Square could and should be like!

Also look at other refurbished squares in the UK such as this one in Manchester by Boston based Martha Schwartz who is one of the best landscape architects working at the moment:

http://www.marthaschwartz.com/prjts/civ ... hange.html

Less red tarmc and more imagination please!

What about the reuse of all the buildings that get demolished on a regular basis... kinda identikit design with artitectural slavage?

Mmmm yeah you might be able to get one section of cast iron railings out of elgin place......

re CC's links. The Manchester project looks fantastic. It's a shame we're not (likely) to get sthg like that. The form of that space lends itself a bit more to an exciting design though. George Square is so formal with so much stuffy Victorian sculpture, it would be challenging though not impossible to take a completely new direction with it.

Nice idea Sharon, but Glasgow salvage is only fit for road hardcore it would seem, filling in basins and prettyfying interchanges

My attempt at improving George Sq: me on a plinth


Anywho, La place de Greve is the most obvious comparison to George Sq, similar in size, use and social history (as in below pic), the council would do well to adopt a similar, more coherent approach to the way in which they feel we should all use the space. It'll be nice to have somewhere in the square to grab a coffee or some lunch (I loathe Greggs, and I grudge having to queue out the door for it!) but sticking it in the north west corner of the square is not the best solution I feel.


Red flag raised in George Sq, 1919

Where Queen St and Georges Streets converge is an extremely busy corner for traffic, in particular buses, with the result of a lot of noise pollution in addition to the exhaust emissions, and as the council states itself, has the most footfall of the square. I suppose Im quite pessimistic in saying that it might turn out more of an obstacle for those of us trying to get from A to B (or to a lecture you're already late for ) but we shall have to wait and see what the competition entrants (or is it nominees?) come up with.

I've thought about this before in relation to a thread on SkyScraperCity.com where it was suggested that the statues should/could be moved from the square to provide more space. Silly idea I thought so Im surprised the council havnt come up with it themselves, but the square does appear a tad cluttered so maybe removing some or a few of them might not be such a bad idea, possibly to the Merchant City where £10m worth of public realm upgrades have just been announced. Re-juggle the remaining statues so as to leave space beside the Scott Monument, facing the Merchants House for such a facility, and obviously, DITCH THE RED SHIT! George Square deserves the finest granites and slates our public money can buy!

Love your idea Apollo! They could just expand the bunker theyve got under it, they'd save £££s!

Crusty