New vision for Winter Gardens
IT was built more than a century ago following a donation from a local industrialist and stood as a local architectural jewel before it fell into disrepair and was nearly demolished.
Now £8.1 million plans could transform Springburn Winter Gardens into a thriving community asset again.
They would see the Gardens turned into a spectacular venue for performances and events, along with a woodland kindergarten, meeting and office spaces, and a cafe bar.
The Springburn Winter Gardens Trust held an extensive design process to produce a scheme for the restoration of the A-listed structure, which is at the heart of Springburn Park.
It has lain derelict since 1983 but local people are determined to rescue it for the good of the community, with fresh urgency to save the building following the sudden demolition of the historic Springburn Public Halls in 2012.
Paul Sweeney was a founding member of the Trust, later becoming the Labour MP for the area in 2017.
Currently serving as the Trust’s secretary, Mr Sweeney said he is excited by the transformational effect the project could have on a part of Glasgow that is all too often overlooked.
He said: “The trustees have worked long and hard with the community in their spare time to reach this important milestone of finally being able to visualise what a restored Winter Gardens could look like.
“It is a powerful statement of intent for Springburn’s desire to restore its rightful place as a key part of Glasgow’s economic and cultural life again.
“In a post-covid Glasgow, this is exactly the sort of ambitious project that is essential to building a more vibrant and sustainable community in the north of the city.
“I can already see it in my mind’s eye and the impact it will have here is hard to overstate.
“As well as providing a fantastic community asset to be proud of again, it will also give the rest of Glasgow and beyond a reason to come to Springburn again.”
Springburn Glass House was originally built in 1900 after a donation by Sir Hugh Reid, owner of the nearby Hyde Park Locomotive Works in Flemington Street, and a prominent local resident.
In 2017 the Trust saved the structure from imminent collapse by securing emergency funding from the city council and Glasgow City Heritage Trust to prevent the roof from falling in and reinforcing the steelwork.
After an extensive community consultation and workshops led by the Winter Gardens Trust and Collective Architecture, the proposed restoration scheme is centred on the repurposing of the main hall of the building, the largest single span glasshouse in Scotland, as a venue for performances and events.
Plans also include a cafe/bar and kitchen with outdoor courtyard. Included in the scheme is a heritage exhibition space celebrating the area’s industrial and social history, using artefacts from the former Springburn Museum that was closed in 2001.
There will be a new woodland kindergarten childcare centre, as well as flexible studio, meeting and office pod spaces that can support artistic and community tenants, all creating a sustainable revenue base which will allow the complex to perate on a not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the community.
Planned capacities range from 1,800 people standing for a concert,1,000 seated for a theatre performance, to more than 500 for a catered event, such as a wedding reception or conference.
Collective architects have drawn on inspiration from similar sized venues such as the Briggait, SWG3, the Glue Factory, Old Fruitmarket and BAAD in Glasgow and the Drill Hall, Edinburgh, in formulating their concept of how the revitalised structure might operate.
Ross Aitchison, project architect for Collective Architecture, said: “We know that preserving Springburn Winter Gardens as one of the few reminders of the area’s illustrious industrial and social history is more important than ever.
“As a practice we are working extensively in North Glasgow and are witnessing first-hand the immense changes the area is going through in repairing the architectural damage this important area of the city has undergone.
“Restoration of the Winter Gardens would play an important part in the cultural, social and community regeneration of Springburn and North Glasgow. We were delighted to develop these proposals with the Winter Garden’s Trust and the area’s flourishing community groups.”
It will give people a reason to come to Springburn