TRADESTON – BROOMIELAW BRIDGE + URBAN ENVIRONMENT GLASGOW
Six teams were invited to propose ideas for a bridge and urban environment on the banks of Clyde. On the shortlist of this £40 million limited competition were also Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Future Systems, Lifschutz Davidson and a Scottish team. Rainbow-like iridescence of a dragonfly’s wings was the inspiration for our unique urban glass sculpture. By day sunlight filtered through its coloured glass as through stained glass cathedral windows. By night it glowed with a myriad of changing colours. An exuberant brooch on the Clyde it was visible from near and far, from trains, cars and the sky. With changing colour and transparency, the multi-coloured glass leaf bent over the Clyde provided a degree of weather protection. A funicular that travelled on top of the arch was a tourist attraction. It offered safe passage in bad weather and views of Glasgow and the glass pattern on the bridge. Ours was a why not a how bridge: A living bridge, a landmark for Glasgow and a means of animating the Clyde. Based on the time-honoured arch principle this structure was not an engineering statement. Its deck, like an elongated piazza, 10 meters wide in the middle, provided ample space to mingle and interact, space for a market with removable stalls and for installation art. Linking a new linear park at Broomielaw with a new vibrant artisan and food quarter that we proposed on the Tradeston waterfront it had 24-hour life and offered 24-hour security.
Project developed with Faber Maunsell.
