Doors Open Day 2012

Photo above by Tom Donald

Next weekend sees the return (and the 23rd year) of Glasgow Doors Open day when there will be a whole series of talks, walks and open tours of Glasgow's fabulous Architecture and best of all its all free.

There is really too much to cover properly but here's a list of some of the things happening in the Southside with a couple of brief descriptions of what to expect. Some of the events have limited numbers and are already getting full so if something sounds interesting it would be worth looking up more info to make sure you don't miss out.

Interesting sounding events include -

A tour of the brilliant Albert Drive Studios in Pollokshields, and a step back inside the Langside Halls past to relive some historical moments dramatically re-enacted by TRAM Direct Theatre Company in partnership with South Glasgow Heritage & Environment Trust. An opportunity for you to eavesdrop on what took place in the early 20th Century. (11am, 1pm & 3pm both days) Of the tours, the Pollokshields one looks to be full but there are still spaces on the Cart Blanche and the Govanhillbaths if you get in quick.

For more info and find out about availability then visit -www.glasgowdoorsopenday.com

FULL LIST OF SOUTHSIDE EVENTS

Albert Drive Studios - Tour of artists studios, including Edo Architecture, Jennie Loof and Laura Spring Textiles

Langside Halls - Relive historical moments with actors in this rich Italian Renaissance palazzo

Pollokshaws Burgh Halls - Described as the stateliest and most conspicuous building in Pollokshaws

Glasgow Sheriff Court - Impressive purpose built court house allowing tours of the courtrooms & cells!

Pollok Community Fire Station - A busy working fire station!

Glasgow House, Construction Skills Academy & Big Red Truck - A ground-breaking prototype house project

Holmwood House - Alexander Thomsons finest A listed villa

House For An Art Lover - Extremely popular design by famous Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Pollok House - Glasgows only Edwardian country house containing one of the finest collections of Spanish Art

Rawcliffe House (Former Carmelite Monastery) - Impressive Victorian House newly converted into luxury private homes

Burrell Collection, The - A vast & bewildering collection of historical artefacts

Glasgow Museums Resource Centre - Vast treasure trove of objects from around the world

Langside Parish Church - Newly refurbished multipurpose church with creative additions and stunning artwork

St. Margarets Episcopal Church - A classic of the Romanesque Revival - an inspiring & beautiful building

St. Ninians Episcopal Church - Neo-Gothic revivalist style Grade 2 Listed church

Craigholme School - Four beautiful Victorian Villas innovatively transformed into a private girls school

Hutchesons Grammar School, Secondary - Purpose built, modern and innovative glass-fronted studio theatre

Scotland Street School Museum - A fascinating glimpse into the past school days

Hampden Park - An iconic stadium in world football

Castlemilk Stables - State of the art converted stable block with great views over Glasgow

Govanhill Baths - Edwardian baroque style baths, closed for swimmers but open for events

Tramway (incorporating the Hidden Gardens) - One of Europes most celebrated multi-purpose theatre and visual art spaces

BBC Scotland - The studios of the voice of Scotland

Pollokshields Heritage Trail Part 1: The Villas - Learn about the stories behind the opulent villas of West Pollokshields

Crosshill - Boasting some of Glasgows most dramatic and distinctive tenements, the history of this area is reve

Cart Blanche - Explore the extraordinary heritage of Glasgows Southside waterway

Dumbreck and Hazelwood Heritage Walk - A walking tour of the rich history of architecture and its surrounding area

Kinning Park and Plantation - Brian D Henderson describes the fruits of his 20+ years of research on the area.

Shawlands Town Centre Plan

Last year Glasgow City Council carried out a public consultation asking people who use Shawlands Town Centre for their thoughts on how the area could be improved. Out of the huge number of peopel who live and work in the area only 1240 responses were recieved and these are published in a report below. The Council have now generated a plan for the future of the area and they are after your thoughts. Lets try and get more than 1240 people giving comment on the proposals good or bad. Its a good chance to try and set the right focus for the future development of the area.

Here is some information that the Development and Regeneration Services have sent us.  

Link:

Results of Shawlands Town Centre Survey Published

Following on from the consultation a Draft Shawlands Town Centre Action Plan was developed.

The Plan is intended to:

• Ensure Shawlands becomes a more desirable place to live and invest.
• Addresses economic, place-making and urban management issues
• Proposes specific ways in which the Town Centre can be repositioned to become a successful, thriving city destination.
• Recommend a number of improvements to place management, public spaces, streets, buildings and the role played by business and customers in helping it to become more successful.

The Council invites you to support the Town Centre Action Plan and become involved. Please follow the link to the Draft Action Plan and its supporting documents and tell us what you think!!

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/Consultations/

You can comment by:-
Phone 0141 287 6094 / 6097
email shawlands@drs.glasgow.gov.uk
Post to Shawlands Town Centre Action Plan , DRS, Glasgow City Council, FREEPOST SC05293 Glasgow G2 1BR. If you would like to chat about the issues of the Town Centre with other Shawlands customers, businesses and residents you can also do this via our partners at Shawlands Business Association Facebook. A drop in event at Langside Hall has been organised from 10.00am to 9.00pm on January 23rd to discuss the plan. Feel free to drop in and have a chat.

Millenium space - Govanhill

Ever passed the above and wondered what is was or is for? In 1999 five areas of Glasgow were designated for renewal under the Millennium Space project, for Glasgow's year of architecture and design . One of these areas was Govanhill.

'The Millenium Hut' was designed by Studio Kap Architects in collaboration with the artist Claire Barclay to provide a community facility, with in the area.. A garden store, workshop, library, growing shelves and viewing platform are contained within a timber three storey structure of new and recycled elements.

Is the structure ever open to the public and is it still in use? Does anyone know?

Planning submitted for supermarket @ Larkfield Bus Depot

The planning application has been submitted for the (previously discussed) superstore, on the site of the Larkfield Bus Depot in Govanhill. Its an unfortunate coincidence that this application was submitted on the the eve of the Glasgow Fair holiday, meaning the window for people to officially comment on the proposals falls over the two weeks of the year when a large proportion of Glasgow is not here. Its also an interesting bit of serenpidity that the day it was submitted was also the deadline for responding to the Glasgow City Plan questionaire,which in theory is a document allowing us the citizens to shape the way the City develops and which this Supermarket proposal is currently contrary to (the site is designated for housing not retail).

When the Larkfield Supermarket scheme was first raised there was a lot of debate from people both for and against, with I'd say a majority raising more concerns about the negetive impacts that the scheme could bring about. As such we thought we should provide a link to information on how to comment on the application. Its very important that the Govanhill community have a strong say in what happens in their area and this is their oppertunity to impact on a very major site right in the heart of the community. We'd urge everyone with an opinion on the matter to take a read of the below and send in their views. We also thought it worth pointing out what is and isn't grounds for representation. For example one of the things which a lot of people have raised as a concern, "the impact on local shops" is not considered suitable grounds for a representation. The list of things which you can make representations on are only-

• Contrary to the Development Plan
• Appearance (design, materials, scale, massing etc)
• Traffic, parking and access problems
• Residential amenity (noise, overlooking, overshawdowing)
• Effect on listed buildings and Convervation Areas.

Other Council's have moved to an electronic system, but unfortunetly Glasgow doesn't yet upload applications for ease of review. Therefore anyone that wants to find out more regarding the scheme will have to make time during their working week to travel to the Planning Office at 229 George Street and ask to see a copy of the drawings. planning.representations@drs.glasgow.gov.uk 0141 287 8555.

As part of the application the developers have submitted an overview report, a copy of which you can read here. Its worth a read, to get a feel for the idea the developers are trying to sell. Having read through and re-read the comments on our previous post, it would appear most of the previously raised concerns from readers have not been addressed and I can imagine quite a few people still very worried about how the site may be developed.

As mentioned in an earlier post the quality of architecture and construction which has been foiseted upon this area of the city has been dreadful, with the M74 cutting through it, cheap buildings like the plaza thrown up to make a quick buck or the baths closed down to save a quick buck. It would be a tradegy if the Govanhill area was still not allowed to have a stronger say in what gets built or were not able to expect and to demand more thought, care and quality in how their area is developed. Therefore we urge everyone to take some time to read through the application, visit the planning offices if you can and make you opinions either way known.

When confronted by the huge number of complaints about the quality of the finished Plaza building the project developers said "Residents had their opportunity to object to the design during the planning process." Lets not let that happen again. If something is going to get built, lets make sure its something that we all feel deserves to get built.

EDIT: Funny but quite true image sent in by a reader below.

The Plaza @ St Andrew's Cross

I've been meaning to write about this for a while but it took driving past at the weekend and seeing this monstrosity bathed in sunlight to really get me annoyed. The area of the city between Albert Drive and the M74 seems to have fallen through some planning cracks and pretty much anything seems to be allowed. Not only is the M74 ploughing right through the area but quite a few of the new builds which have been fired up nearby are pretty awful too.

Its not just that the actual designs themselves are not very good, but the quality of the materials and construction are also pretty shocking. (Why are all new builds made of yellow brick, a material not natively used in Glasgow?) Take a look at the building on the corner of Albert Drive/ Pollokshaws Road with the weep holes through the render and the odd drainage pipes poking through the wall at pavement level.

Worst of the bunch is The Plaza which is such a crap building its still half empty, years after finally being constructed. (I'll avoid a full appraisal as we could be here all day.) What makes the project doubly annoying was the song and dance the developers made at the time about how they were going to be respecting and reusing as many of the original elements as possible. One of the bits of marketing bumf says "The Plaza recreates the former dance halls vigor and energy in the newly built development of 77 stunning new apartments." Personally I think it more resembles the mess left in the streets after the drunken dance hall patrons have eaten a few kebabs too many, thrown up and wandered off home.

As written about elsewhere, this section of the City has been a major gap between the City centre and the extended South; a legacy of the M74 development hanging over the area for decades. What the area needs is to fill this gap by creating more density and drawing more people into the area. While that does mean more homes, shops, cafes need to be built, it shouldn't mean, that they are built cheaply or poorly, just to ensure that they do get built. For one thing, if they are done as badly as The Plaza then no one wants to live in them and they end making the situation worse.

The Plaza is in a hugely prominent location on the St Andrew's cross junction, both for those going in and out of the City centre and what has been built is a greatly missed opportunity. There was a chance here, to build something of interest and quality which really could have attracted and drawn people into the area. What has been built doesn't even address the main sight lines, relate to the nearby building or even front the road properly.

When I sat down to write this post I did a little Google and was interested to read what other people thought. Speaking to the Evening Times one local said "I think it's an eyesore. They are condemning part of the old Glasgow." and another said "Nobody in the area likes it. I used to go to the Plaza and I can't believe what they've done with it. It's ugly."

Responding to these comments, the developers said "Residents had their opportunity to object to the design during the planning process." Which, while true, is a bit misleading. A large section of the local population probably didn't hear about the project until it was well advanced. Of those that did hear, only some will have known the process for finding out more about an application or putting in an objection. Of those, only a few would be able to take the time to go and check out the drawings at the Council and even then, planning drawings can be pretty misleading and a couple of quickly rendered images can be pretty seductive.

I was also interested to read that the building was named The Worst New Building in Scotland at the 2009 Carbuncle Awards by Prospect Magazine. The editor of Prospect said "What were these people thinking? They have ended up with a building that looks ridiculous. More balls-up than ballroom."

The lesson The Plaza seem to be teaching is, that unless we, the local residents, keep an eye on exactly what is going on, then the developers will push ahead. With a few more proposed projects popping up in the area (most notably the potential new Superstore at the Larkfield Depot) people need to make sure they have their say, positive or negative before its too late.

UPDATE: A Reader has advised that the planning application for the giant superstore at the end of Victoria Road has been submitted and can be reviewed at the Planning Department's offices.

The Council's guide to having your say on Planning Applications is here and is worth a read for those with strong views on the Supermarket Proposal.

Bandstand winning design chosen

We went along to a presentation of the results of the Queen's Park Arena Design Competition last night. The designers of the five shortlisted entries were all there to give a five minute presentation explaining their bandstand designs and give a bit more depth to the entries and it really helped to give a better understanding of the five projects. We were pleased to see that two local residents were in the final three.

The final results were:

Winner - No 44 ZM Architecture
Second Place - No 19 Manifest Architecture
Third Place - No 24 Nicolas Ecob

There was also a special honorable mention prize for No 73 Superfusionlab who's entry was the most popular with the public following the public vote at the Glasshouse exhibition.

The winners ZM Architecture are a well known practice in Glasgow having worked on numerous projects including the Tramway and sculptures in Bellahousten Park. Their design is to act as a sculptural wall during the times when not in practical use. When performances etc are taking place then different sections of the wall fold open and change how the object looks. Its an unusual and ambitious idea, a modern reinterpretation of a bandstand and therefore I can imagine a few people being unsure about it. If its well detailed however with good quality materials and if it proves it can actually does the job its meant for then I think it will be a really interesting draw to get more people into and using the park. I'm looking forward to see how it evolves as the project is developed.

What do people make of the choices?

For previous comment on the project and the initial thoughts of locals visit all previous posts here.

Queen's Park Arena Entries

The entries to the Queen's Park Arena Design competition (see earlier posts here) have now been uploaded to the Competition website and are generally of a really high standard. I think that the right design with the correct backing/ management and with a varied and interesting performance schedule could have a hugely positive impact on this area of the City and on the park. Have a read through the submitted entries and let us know what you think.

A shortlist of entries, selected by the competition judges, will be exhibited in the Glasshouses during the Festival, at Art in the Park and will give the public the opportunity to respond to the judges choices.

Why not pop up on Sun 23 May to the Glasshouses and have your say.

Queens Park Arena Competition Launch Day

The Queen's Park Arena Competition organised by the GIA and QPPP launched last Saturday and there are now photos of the day uploaded to the competition site. Its great to see how many people attended and how many designers (60+) have signed up to be part of it. This is fantastic not just because it means there will be some really interesting designs produced but also because I suggested the idea of the design competition and the involvement of the GIA and was a bit worried it wouldn't work but I'm just glad its been so successful for them.

We missed the event unfortunetly as we were down in London for the judging session of the Electoral Reform competition that I'd organised, but from the looks of things lots of you went along and checked it out. Let us know what you thought of the day and what you'd like to see in the final design.

Design Competition Launched: Queens Park Performance Space

The Queen's Park Performance Group, alongside the Glasgow Institute of Architect's, have today launched a competition to design a performance space on the site of the old band stand, in Queen's Park.

The competition is open to all design professionals or students of architecture, engineering and landscape architecture, it's £25 to enter or £10 if you're a student.

Evelyn Silber, Chair of the Steering Group, commented, 'a member of the public came up with the competition idea . We are delighted to be working with GIA to make it happen and enable local people to get involved with the design process.’

The main competition launch and workshop session will take place on Saturday 24 April at Queen's Park Parish Church and will be open to the public from 2 till 4pm. There will be an exhibition of the entries during May - where the public can comment on the shortlisted designs.

For more information and the brief click here

Supermarket @ Larkfield Bus Depot

Just got sent the below message from a resident in Govanhill and thought you would all find it interesting.
[To see the display boards from the presentation the look to the bottom of this post. Thanks to Tom/ James who emailed us the photos.]

"First Bus are going to be moving from their Larkield depot on Victoria Rd/Butterbiggins Rd and there's a proposal for the site to be developed into a supermarket. The plan includes "superstore, retail units, petrol station and car wash and related access, parking and servicing".

Under new Planning rules the local community must be consulted prior to a Planning Application of this nature being submitted. There's going to be a public exhibition of the plans in Daisy Street Neighbourhood Centre tomorrow (Tuesday 16th March) all day from 10am to 8pm. Comment forms will be available at the exhibition. I should also point out that any comments made on the proposals will be to allow the developers to adapt their plans before they submit the Planning Application. If anyone still wants to officially object to the Application they must do so once it is submitted to Glasgow City Council's Planning Department."

What do you all think about this proposal? The store shown in the proposals, is a biggy. Think more in terms of the super Tesco's or the nearby giant Asda's at Toryglen and Govan. At 100k sqft its the kind of store that could house a dry cleaners and an optitions etc and will likely stock everything from food, to clothes, DIY, stationary, beauty goods and household products.
Do you think its a good development?, will it really bring much needed jobs and consumer choice as the Developers claim or do you think its just another nail in the coffin of the independant shops on Victoria Road, Cathcart road and Kilmarnock Road. Do we need yet another retail park?

Originally the proposal for the Larkfield site was for housing which seemed a good idea and would have helped smooth over the massive division that the M74 has been causing since it was first proposed back in the 60's. The problem with this section of the city is the lack of density. Its the reason the southside feels cut off, you have to pass through a barren land of industrial estates and waste ground. Is this new proposal the best way to reconnect the City in the wake of the new motorway?

What do you all think?

Go along to the Daisy Street Neighbourood Centre Today 16 March between 10 and 8pm to see what the plans are and to have your initial say. You can also now see copies of the presentation below and can send your comments (for or against) to larkfield@muirsmithevens.co.uk.

(Please note that these comments won't be officially recorded and are not presented to the Planning Authority, they are merely to assist the developers in shaping their proposal. Once the Planning Application has actually been submitted, [probably in May], you then still have to go through the official feedback process at that point to have your opinion heard.)

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Mrs Ogg or the Statue of Commerce and Industry - Kinning Park

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

One of my favourite Sculptures in Glasgow is the Angel on top of the building at Kinning Park, which was completed in 1889, and believed to be by James Alexander Ewing.

The Angel building, at 2-20 Paisley Road West, was once the Ogg Brothers Drapery Warehouse, which has long since closed. So the Sculpture is affectionately known, by some, as Mrs Ogg. I do like to think of her as Mrs Ogg rather than the official name ‘Statue of Commerce and Industry’ which is a little dull.

I always imagine that Mrs Ogg would have some good stories about the things she’s seen from up there, on the south turret of the Angel Building.

Common of Houses @ 994 Pollokshaws Road

In the summer 2009 I organised a competition with the Architect's Journal and The Lighthouse called Common of Houses. The aim of the competition was to come up with creative solutions for the MPs' expense fiasco - entrants were asked to design two types of home. A Westminster mass housing solution and a constituency home design in which MPs are allowed to stay when they are elected.

The response to the competition was great and we received some amazing entries from designers and architects throughout the world. After a fun judging session in London with Ken Livingstone and Ruth Reed the competition was eventually won by Glasgow based architects Jude Barber and Phil Zoechbauer of Collective Architecture. Unfortunately the announcement of the winners coincided with the Lighthouse going into administration and we therefore had to come up with an alternative plan to exhibit the entries. A mini exhibition of the work is therefore now travelling the country and as of this morning it is in the Southside. The owner of "Clark Thomas - Express Alterations" has kindly donated part of the vacant shopfront next to their shop to show the work. It is therefore on display right beside the main bus stop on the way into town at 994 Pollokshaws Road. Its just a small selection of the work but some of the entries are brilliantly drawn and worth a look.
We'd really to thank the guys at Clark Thomas for donating the use of their shopfront. I've used them before to get a coat cleaned and to repair an old and favourite pair of trousers and always had a good service.

Clark Thomas Express Alterations
994 Pollokshaws Road, G41 2HA

0141 632 0469

[The exhibition will be coming down on Sunday the 28 Feb]

Scottish Ballet Headquarters - Pollokshaws Road

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

It was such a nice day today, I went for a walk down to the Tramway and took some photographs of the Scottish Ballet HQ building on Pollokshaws Road. The building was officially opened in September 2009 and was designed by Edinburgh based Malcolm Fraser Architects. Unfortunately the building is not open to the public, so if you want to have a look inside you'll have to wait until doors open day or click here for some internal photographs.

I have been passing the building regularly over the last few months, and I've become aware of how visible the building is from the surrounding area. Over night it's turned into a reference point or landmark for this part of the Southside. I wonder if it will be come an iconic image of the Southside. [Post on this topic to follow shortly]

Empire Exhibition 1938 - Bellahouston Park

Glasgow has a bit of a history of putting on big shows, from the International Exhibition of 1888 through to the Glasgow Garden Festival a hundred years later. The biggest of all these exhibitions however, falls right in the middle of the two.

The 1938 Empire Exhibition was one of the biggest events ever seen in the UK and was imagined as a means of kick starting the Scottish Economy and Industry, which had been in declining into a depression since the end of the First World War (which at the time was still just being called “The World War”.).

The aim of the Festival was to show off the skills and ingenuity of Scotland and the British Empire to the rest of the world and bring in new orders. A team of nine of the top architects of that generation were employed under the master planning supervision of Thomas S. Tait to create a strikingly modernist vision of a future city in Bellahouston Park.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of this event a project was put together last year to create a digital archive telling the story of the exhibition and allowing you to get a taste of what it must have been like to walk its grand streets. The project has been brilliantly put together by the Digital Design Studio under the supervision of a team of experts and the website is a treasure trove of facts, figures, videos, images and drawings. For example did you know that this was the last big show of the British Empire, that it took ten months to build, was only open for six months but still managed to attract 13m people which was about five times the total population of Scotland.
The main part of the Empire Exhibition project is a intricate 3D digital model of the park and all the principal buildings, which you can navigate with an interactive map. The map can be reviewed on the website but it can also be found at the House for an Art Lover where there is an Interpretation Centre with a continuous loop, a research archive and a small exhibition of memorabilia. The only thing missing from the project site is a proper explanation of the reasoning to build this amazing park of sculptural buildings but then only to give them a shelf life of six months? It’s similar to when the Garden Festival was constructed, it too proved hugely popular but was closed and dismantled a short while later. If they were both still around what would that section of South West be like today?

In the end however, nearly all the buildings were taken down and removed, some found new life in new locations, like the Palace of Engineering which is now at Prestwick Airport, but most were just dismantled for good. The only real survivor is the Palace of Art which is still in the Park but now serves as a centre for sporting excellence. There’s a nice section on the project website where you can compare images from 1938 to how the same scenes looks today.

The images on the site are a glimpse into a fascinating time capsule, not just of the fashions and styles of the time but also of their ideas of what the future might hold. There is a great deal of optimism and a grand sense of hope for this future expressed in both the park’s layout and the individual building designs. It makes you wonder what Scotland might have become if this enthusiasm had been able to grow uncut by the Second World War which began just nine months after the Glasgow Exhibition Closed.

Links:

Main Website

Slideshow video of old photos

Video on Best Laid Plans

House for an Art Lover Page
Map of Bellahouston Park

Shawlands Regeneration?

Thought you all might find the below interesting. We decided to find out more about the Town Centre survery that was carried out earlier this year so did a bit of looking on the council's site and found the email address for David Dunlop, the area planner who is coordinating the review. We sent David a quick email asking about the progress and he sent us back the below information and part of the bid document. What do you guys make of it?

"Following the set up of a Town Centre Steering Group last year, the Council have been gathering information about Shawlands which will feed into a Town Centre Action Plan. As part of this in May this year the Council launched a customer survey to find who uses Shawlands Town Centre, why, and what people feel are the main issues. With the help of Glasgow South East Regeneration Agency the Council also hope to commence a survey of businesses in the centre to find their perspective on what the issues are and how they can improve and attract more customers.

As at 1st October the survey resulted in 1196 responses and I am presently in the process of analysing the results of these and hope to publish them later in the year.

People told us for example, the things they liked about Shawlands are its:-

• Good pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, deli’s, clubs and its warm relaxed feel
• pleasant environment, community atmosphere, social life
• independent and specialist shops
• Good transport links to Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, M8 & M77
• Diverse population
• Beautiful parks, greenery and amenities

However they also told us they did not like:-

• Vacant shops and the Arcade
• poor shop fronts and lack of lighting
• Safety and Security
• crossing the road
• Lack of public toilets
• difficulty in parking

On 28 August, on behalf of the Steering Group, the Council also submitted a bid to the Scottish Government Town Centre Regeneration Fund. This fund was launched in May for one year only, and is intended to assist projects which help improve and protect town centres throughout Scotland during the economic downturn. The bid towards a Shawlands Public Realm and Lighting Project is for £680000, and is aimed at carrying out initial improvements towards lighting, footways, street furniture. It is also intended illuminate historic buildings, for example back lighting stained glass in three local churches, provide a lighting installation in Langside Hall, two illuminated fountains in Queens Park boating pond to help connect Shawlands to Strathbungo better, tree management along the western edge of Queens Park and the development of a Shawlands Café Quarter.

As part of the bid we also have a commitment of 100% match funding from private and public sector agencies which would take our overall spend to over £1.5 M. This includes for example the opening of an office of the Glasgow South East Regeneration Agency within the Arcade to directly assist busineses in the centre, advise new starts and help local residents access employment and training opportunities The announcement of successful bids will be on 2nd November. If we are fortunate in securing the funding, the project will be the first stage in delivering a detailed Town Centre Action Plan for the centre, providing early action on some of the key points of feedback residents have given by ‘brightening centre by improved lighting’ and helping to improve Safety and Security.

The proposed Shawlands Public Realm and Lighting Project will also aim to:-

• Build on the unique aspects of Shawlands by using light and key buildings to attract people back to the centre from its traditional catchment.
• Capitalise on a range of major attractions located on the Cathcart Circle e.g.; Hampden (1 m visitors each year), Pollok Park (700000+ a year), the Tramway (25000+), Queens Park (75k)
• Help ‘reposition the centre’ as the City approaches the 2014 Commonwealth Games, to become a leisure and social retail destination providing a specialised quality food, drink and a retail offering which is able compete against larger centres. "

As David mentioned they should have heard the results at the beginning of November so we'll send him another email to find out if they have been successful. While I don't agree with all their proposals, for instance I'm sceptical about fountains in the pond, but the fact that some plans are progressing is a positive sign and it looks like things are moving in the right direction. (In the comments below lets here what you think would be good for the area.)

While the survey has now been processed and an application made, the survey is probably still the best way to let the Council and the Steering group directly know your thoughts on what you'd like to see happen, so click below and fill it in.

Here are the links.

Quick Survey
Customer Survery (longer)

Queens Park Performance Project

[Queens Park Bandstand 1920]

Last week we were invited to a presentation by the Queen's Park Performance Project which is a community group, set up by a pilot Government Funding scheme, to explore regenerating the old queens park bandstand space.

The talk by Evelyn Silber and Bob Marshall was very interesting and they discussed the origin of the pilot funding scheme and the works which have been undertaken so far. The project has only been going for about 5 or 6 months but they have already made good head way getting the area surveyed, carrying out a questionnaire with locals and drawing up some rough proposals for basic costing purposes.

[Queens Park Bandstand 1995 by Monkeyiron]

Its been 13 years since the last band stand burned down and I think if done right, this project could be a huge benefit to the park and the local area.

The steering group have identified their aims as

• 
  
  creating a modified seating area for around 950 people.
• 
  
  a flat performance space suitable for use with or without staging, canopy projection
• 
  
  providing an electrical supply for sound and light systems
• 
  
  performer wc/ changing facilities
• 
  
  flexible space able to host drama, music, film, children's events and exercise classes
• 
  
  the capacity to host free and charged events
• 
  
  possibly a unique space capable of attracting city, national and international performances

All sounds good to me. With the Tramway, the Ballet and the Citizens also all in the Southside now we are building up quite the cultural flare.

In terms of visitors to the park I think it would be a great boost and in turn could result in the park being able to attract for funding for its maintenance and upkeep. Designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, Queens Park is one of the nicest parks in the city and with the Glasshouses, the reptile room and the free sports in the summer it already has a few fun things to get involved with but with a carefully designed and detailed bandstand it could become a real strong tourist attraction. I love wandering through Queens Park but I always feel it could do with something extra- possibly some modern sculptures or art works to give it another layer of interest.

[Queens Park Bandstand 2009 by Monkeyiron]

I guess ultimately the project will succeed or fail on the quality of the design and on the commitment and maintenance of both the finished construction and the programme of events that it stages.

So far only very basic designs have been drawn up by the Council's in house team - examples from the presentation are below. Don't judge them too harshly, I know they are not particularly very inspiring images but they are meant to get you thinking and to assist with costing purposes.

At the presentation someone raised the idea of a design competition and details have been passed on to the Steering group relating to the Glasgow Institute of Architects work with local projects and the RIAS matched funding schemes for getting advice and ideas worked up. I'm sure that this kind of project would be of great interest to local artists and architects etc but it's such an attractive project I could see it attracting interest at a national level.

The Scottish Government Funding £15k runs from April 2009 to March 2010 and will enable preliminary consultation, planning and costing to take place. The next steps will include discussions with potential users and the application for various grant funding based on fully researched and prepared costings - including the various community area committees and to external bodies such as the Lottery. The aim would be to have the work beginning on site in 2011.

There is a fair amount of information on the QPPP website but I understand there might be a public meeting further along the process to present the work and ideas to the wider area so we will let you all know when that is when it is announced.

In the mean time to be kept up to date with whats going on or if you have any questions or just wish to send the group messages of support then you can email chair@qppp.org.uk.

Greek Gorbals

Photo by Daveymcn

I read a couple of short pieces about plans to renovate the old Alexander "Greek" Thompson Church on Caledonia Road last week and so today decided to try and find out a bit more information.

Poor "Greek" Thompson buildings have suffered over the years with many torn down in the 60's and many more being allowed to fall into disrepair and collapse. This is made even more striking when you compare him Glasgow's other famous architectural son - the ever present Mackintosh and the huge impact that his style still has on the city today.

Its funny that as a city we seem to have opted to put all our efforts into the one rather than try to promote both but hopefully, finally that's going to change.

Its just been announced in the last few weeks that the old abandoned Caledonia church - one of the few original Gorbals buildings still standing is possibly going to find a new life. This new life will be to create a permanent home for the Alexander Thompson Society, a gallery of his vast (150+) buildings, studios, apartments and a museum.

There is a good wee article on the Architecture Scotland website and more info on the society's site where they outline their aims for the project and how things are attempting to progress.

What do people think of the proposed images?

I like them, very different to other buildings in the city and if will completed could be a good addition to the area - but I guess it totally depends on how well it gets put together and them raising sufficient funding to afford good quality materials.

Art Installations in Govanhill Baths

The Govanhill Baths will be opening its doors, for the second time since the Baths was closed in 2001, on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th of September. I ve never been inside Govanhill Baths and would be really interested in getting inside and finding out more about plans for its future redevelopment.

The Govanhill Baths Art and Regeneration Team are inviting people to propose ideas for artwork to be sited in the space for the weekend. The work should be relevant to the space, its architecture, social history or the campaign to save it. There are lots of different spaces in the building, including three pools, individual baths, the old steamie (laundry) area, changing areas, reception.

The building is in a poor state of repair (because it hasn’t been maintained since it closed) although structurally sound. Most of the contents of the building has been removed.

The artwork can be in any medium: a sculpture, painting, performance, photograph, text piece, intervention etc. It can be solo or collaborative.

for more information - closing date for proposals is 30th June 2009

Common of Houses

This isn't specifically a Southside project but it does cover the entire country so thought it might be of interest to all the Southside creative types.

Hole in my Pocket (My design and art collective) has just launched a new competition in association with the Architect's Journal to come up with creative solutions to the MPs two home/ expenses fiasco. Our thinking, how do we sort it all out, so that the majority of honest MPs don't get tarred and punished by the same brush?

The competition is open until the 21 July and full details can be found on the website http://www.commonofhouses.co.uk/.

We are also pleased to announce that Ken Livingstone and Kieran Long are the first two judges to sign up and there will be more big names from the worlds of politics, art and architecture in the next week. Get your design pens out and get thinking - there is a top prize to be won.

Butterfly Kisses - Skirving Street

The New Butterfly Kisses shop, on Skirving street in Shawlands, has been open for a couple of months now. I have been meaning to call in and have a browse, but with us being away in Japan and the crazy festive period I've not had a chance. However I came across these pictures on the Glasgow Architecture website today. The place looks great - it's been beautifully designed by Jonathan McQuillan. I've attached a few links to some articles about the new shop...but I can't find an actual website for the shop. I'll let you know what it's like once I've been

Glasgow Architecture and Scottish Architecture