I visited the new look George Square in Glasgow - here’s what I found
George Square is at the heart of the transformation of Glasgow and forms the central point of the Avenues network.
The square will be a welcoming space for events, festivals and for people to sit and meet up. It will have more green spaces, more places for sitting, meeting and enjoying the city centre, improved landscaping, as well as new play and sensory gardens.
Another part of the square will open this weekend for Glasgow's main Remembrance Sunday service which will take place in front of the cenotaph.
I headed down to the new look George Square to find out more about how the project is progressing and what changes have been made.
Looking towards the City Chambers from the west side of George Square.
Declan McConville
A look at the new state of the art projectors on the east side of George Square. Very few cities in the world have these kind of projectors. The enclosures around them feature motifs of Glasgow such as the bell, the fish, the tree and the bird. Later on this month these projectors will go on and project on to the City Chambers. It’s all been 3D mapped on to the building. All will be revealed in due course.
Declan McConville
The main change in the square is the materials. You will notice the granite surfacing which is a different colour to everything else in the city. It contrasts against the typical Caithness stone which is used everywhere else. It brings out the square and makes it look different. The material runs from building line to building line on each side of the square. The carriageways are the same material, all be it that the sizes of the stones are different. There is also two-way cycle lanes on the north and south. On the north side it connects into North Hanover Street which ties into the projects which are taking place at North Hanover Street, Cowcaddens and beyond. For the second phase, a two-way cycle lane will run right along and connect into Duke Street and beyond.
Declan McConville
The idea of the rain gardens is to alleviate the pressure on the drainage system and take in as much surface water as possible. These are darted all along the north side where they were able to be accomodated. As part of the project, there is 17,000 shrubs and plants going to be planted.
Declan McConville
During the works, there has been issues with old utilities that weren't accounted for or showed on historical plans such as issues relating to the tramway ducting with chambers bein found underground.
Declan McConville
West George Street is also part of the wider project at George Square. Network Rail and Glasgow City Council worked closely to design the space which flows out of Queen Street station.
Declan McConville
The west side of George Square was the first side to open back up. There is a lot of new street furniture on this side of the square.
Declan McConville
The materials are slighty different in size on this side of the square which effectively demarcates the street cafe spaces which the restaurants and pubs have whenever the square fully reopens.
Declan McConville
There is now a Scottish water drinking fountain on the square which George Square has never had before.
Declan McConville
All 11 statues on George Square were taken away to be restored. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are the only two statues to be in their original positions. Most of the statues are now found on the east side of George Square. There is also going to be a spare plinth on the square which will be used at some point.
Declan McConville
As well as the projectors on the east side of George Square, there is also new lighting columns which are darted around the square. The foundations for these lighting columns are enormous underground. Lanterns will be installed on the top of them and they will integrate with the projectors to light the square up.
Declan McConville
During the run up to Christmas, the contractor is going to focus on completing the south carriageway. Once this is complete, it has to be grouted and it will then take a couple of weeks for it to build up the resilience to handle large buses and other heavy vehicles. There is also going to be a two-way cycle lane on this side of the square.
Declan McConville
The raised lawn in the new year will be turfed to create another green space in the square for people to enjoy. For this Christmas, a platform has been put on it for people to come up and see the tree. You are able to access this from the cenotaph side. There is a couple of red steps on either side of the raised lawn which is a nod to Glasgow tenements.
Declan McConville