MVRDV + Austin -Smith: Lord Selected to Reinvigorate Downtown

Glasgow
The Glasgow City Council has selected a multidisciplinary team lead by
MVRDV and Glasgow-based Austin Smith Lord to transform downtown
Glasgow into a “more livable, attractive, competitive and sustainable
center”. Titled (Y)our City Center, the strategy calls for a regeneration of
the 400 hectare city center that would reorganize circulation and
infrastructure while providing new residential options to support Scotland’s
economic center.
As home to many Scotland’s major economic institutions, downtown
Glasgow serves the needs of 135.000 people on a daily offering a mix of
leisure culture, shopping and entertainment experiences. But despite recent
efforts to bloster the city’s tourism and financial sectors, major urban
challenges remain: inefficient use of public space, divisive infrastructure,
automobile-dominated streetscapes, lack of green space, large numbers of
vacant buildings, shortage of residential inhabitants and environmental
issues resulting from high emissions are just some of issues plaguing
Scotland’s largest city .