Project:
Merchant City Public Art Lighting Project
'Gateway'
Date:
June 2011
Client:
Merchant City Initiative - Public Competition
Collaborators:
Icecream Architecture
About:
SHORT-LISTED
Pidgin Perfect were shortlisted for the Merchant City Public Art Lighting Project from a highly competitive list of architects and public artists. Our proposal, on which we collaborated with our good friends Icecream Architecture, highlights Glasgow Cross as a 'gateway' between the Merchant City and the East End of Glasgow.
The site on which the railway bridges traverse the Gallowgate and London Load at Glasgow Cross has been a gateway to the city since medieval times. Our Gateway celebrates that transition from East End/Merchant City and Merchant City/East End.
Glasgow Cross has been an epicentre of Glasgow life since the sixteenth century. Though overshadowed today in scale and social importance; it marks the original heart of the city. In bygone times, it was a meeting point for trade, civic duty, municipal welcome, onward journey and social importance. It was centre stage in the hosting of major civic events and was regularly shrouded in colour and opulence to highlight its significance.
Gateway proposes to attach large neon signs to the railway bridge to highlight the history, flavour and character of the area through the use of the Glaswegian colloquialism.
Gateway echo's the tongue in cheek signposting which is found in the area and signposts what is now a key gateway to the current Merchant City. Using the railway bridges that cross both London Road and Gallowgate the proposal will blur the boundary and celebrate the meeting of a diverse group of communities.
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