5 Blocks of flats to be blown up during commonwealth games opening ceremony

[PaxVobiscum]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-26857816

Five high rise flats which have been part of Glasgow's skyline for almost 50 years will be blown up as part of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.

Five of the remaining six Red Road flats will be brought down in just 15 seconds in the biggest demolition of its kind ever seen in Europe.

The event will be shown live on a 100ft wide screen at the Celtic Park ceremony and to a huge TV audience.

The 30-storey structures were built in the mid 1960s.

The original eight tower blocks housed about 4,000 people and were once the highest flats in Europe.

I could suggest alternatives - the St Enoch Centre in Glasgow (it would make a great site for a station) or Cumbernauld (all of it).

Any other candidates for the hit list?

 

[gordonthemoron]

Cumbernauld was the setting for Gregory's Girl

 

[455driver]

No pressure on the demolishion company to get it right is there!

When the bloke (the real one not the celebrity out front) pushes the button I bet his bottom will be squeaking a bit!

 

[DarloRich]

No pressure on the demolishion company to get it right is there!

When the bloke (the real one not the celebrity out front) pushes the button I bet his bottom will be squeaking a bit!

Surely a man will be standing by with a match to light the fuse. He can then retire to a safe distance

 

[Flamingo]

I must admit, when I heard this, my first thought was " How pointless".

On reflection, I haven't changed my opinion!

 

[CallySleeper]

So in London we had the Danny Boyle, the Queen, James Bond, Rowan Atkinson,

in Glasgow we'll get a demolition? Excited (not)

 

[bb21]

I must admit, when I heard this, my first thought was " How pointless".

On reflection, I haven't changed my opinion!

If that is the only way to "wow the world" as they put it that they can think of, then I despair at the organisors.

 

[Nick W]

Housing shortage? Shortage of land to build houses? What shortage?

Solution to high house prices in the south east---don't live in the south east.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Insane.

 

[Class172]

I must admit, when I heard this, my first thought was " How pointless".

On reflection, I haven't changed my opinion!

If that is the only way to "wow the world" as they put it that they can think of, then I despair at the organisors.

Exactly my thoughts when I saw the article earlier - why, just why do they feel it is necessary to do this in order to grab attention?

 

[DaveNewcastle]

The Red Row flats are very very special. I've been there a few times just to admire them or to take pictures of them in different light - the best views are from afar.

Please look at this thread on skyscrapercity with images of Glasgow's tower blocks and remember that Glasgow inherited a legacy of impoverished communities living in squallid conditions in tenements (the Gorbals district was legendary) and the City wanted to transform itself by constructing these iconic slender and colourful towers of concrete.

Whether we like them or not, or whether we believe that lives can be transformed by a change of environment, we have to acknowledge that this was an attempt at social engineering on a grand scale which deserves to be marked. I'm happy that their collapse will be made into a grand spectacle.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

It's a fascinating subject - many sincere architectural thinkers from Le Corbusier to our own Clough Williams Ellis believed that lives could be transformed by a change of environment and that vertical cities were one method of achieving this. Indeed many of the first residents of the high flats were very happy with the quality of life therein, to begin with at least.

 

[marks87]

Five?

After 10, what's a common start number for a countdown? #justsaying

 

[Flamingo]

The Red Row flats are very very special. I've been there a few times just to admire them or to take pictures of them in different light - the best views are from afar.

Please look at this thread on skyscrapercity with images of Glasgow's tower blocks and remember that Glasgow inherited a legacy of impoverished communities living in squallid conditions in tenements (the Gorbals district was legendary) and the City wanted to transform itself by constructing these iconic slender and colourful towers of concrete.

Whether we like them or not, or whether we believe that lives can be transformed by a change of environment, we have to acknowledge that this was an attempt at social engineering on a grand scale which deserves to be marked. I'm happy that their collapse will be made into a grand spectacle.

Ok, I'm a philistine, I'll admit it

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Ok, I'm a philistine, . . .

Well maybe you and I are very different in some ways. But I don't see this as a cultural extravagance as much as I see it as a reminder that our big and radical ideas for the future often don't bring the benefits we hope for.

To put it another way, looking at the vast concrete slabs of Red Row towering on the hillside, away from any communities or facilities reminds me that one hell of a lot of people in my lifetime must have been convinced that this was a good idea. If that many people in my lifetime can get that decision wrong, what does that tell me about our ability to make any other big decision?

The Red Row monoliths are quite unique and impressive in their own way, but I would have found them unbearable to live in - I'm glad I never had to live up there, though thousands of others did. I'd be happier in a railwayman's bothy.

 

[Johnuk123]

http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2014/04/04/glasgow-to-be-%e2%80%98nuked%e2%80%99-during-commonwealth-closing-ceremony/

Glasgow to be ‘nuked’ during Commonwealth Closing Ceremony

 

[Butts]

Yes they should blow the whole of Glasgow up and hold the games in Edinburgh

 

[deltic1989]

^^ Now that's an idea I could get on board with .

 

[tbtc]

remember that Glasgow inherited a legacy of impoverished communities living in squallid conditions in tenements (the Gorbals district was legendary) and the City wanted to transform itself by constructing these iconic slender and colourful towers of concrete.

Whether we like them or not, or whether we believe that lives can be transformed by a change of environment, we have to acknowledge that this was an attempt at social engineering on a grand scale which deserves to be marked. I'm happy that their collapse will be made into a grand spectacle

I don't see this as a cultural extravagance as much as I see it as a reminder that our big and radical ideas for the future often don't bring the benefits we hope for.

To put it another way, looking at the vast concrete slabs of Red Row towering on the hillside, away from any communities or facilities reminds me that one hell of a lot of people in my lifetime must have been convinced that this was a good idea. If that many people in my lifetime can get that decision wrong, what does that tell me about our ability to make any other big decision?

That's the difference between Glasgow and Sheffield.

Glasgow built huge complexes of flats as slum clearances, attempting Social Engineering to better the lives of the "common man". These are no longer fit for purpose and are therefore being demolished.
Sheffield built huge complexes of flats as slum clearances, attempting Social Engineering to better the lives of the "common man". These are no longer fit for purpose but English Heriatage "listed" them, forcing us to try to find some future for them (despite a plethora of "city living" flats being built in the last decade, as a smaller version of what has transformed inner city Manchester etc) - which is we have all of the expense/ empty properties that we have.

In summary, I much prefer the Glasgow version - If the Red Row flats are being demolished then the "drama" of explosions at the Commonwealth Games at least marks the "end of an era", rather than seeing them slowly taken down over many months. Its not quite Danny Boyle, but in its own way, its an interesting step in the transformation of Glasgow - from the post-war flats to the shiny modern future of the sports venues and what not.

 

[Johnuk123]

Its not quite Danny Boyle, but in its own way, its an interesting step in the transformation of Glasgow.

It certainly isn't Danny Boyle, blowing up a few slums in Glasgow isn't exactly a never to be missed t.v experience.

 

[Butts]

It certainly isn't Danny Boyle, blowing up a few slums in Glasgow isn't exactly a never to be missed t.v experience.

On the other hand blowing the whole of Glasgow up...........

 

[Flamingo]

On the other hand blowing the whole of Glasgow up...........

You have to remember that Glasgow was quite heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1940-41, and because of it's docks was a target for sporadic raids causing further distruction all through the war.

Rebuilding work is due to start soon!

 

[Strathclyder]

It isn't happening:

Glasgow 2014: Red Road flats demolition dropped from opening

Commonwealth Games organisers have dropped the demolition of the Red Road flats from the Glasgow 2014 opening ceremony.

Five of the blocks were to be brought down at the start of the Games in July.

The plan proved controversial, with an online petition against the demolition gathering more than 17,000 signatures.

Glasgow 2014 said opinions being expressed about "safety and security" meant the destruction of the flats would not now feature in the opening.

Police Scotland said that because of these concerns the security director for the Games asked the chairman of the Glasgow 2014 board to reconsider the plan.

The 30-storey structures were built in the mid 1960s and the original eight tower blocks housed more than 4,000 people. The demolitions will now be rescheduled.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27009806

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Drat!

So, instead, what other part of Glasgow can we demolish?
Drumchapel?

 

[marks87]

Edinburgh

 

[90019]

Drat!

So, instead, what other part of Glasgow can we demolish?
Drumchapel?

All of it?

 

[Butts]

Edinburgh

Dundee would be more appropriate
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

All of it?

I've already been pleading for that (as long as I'm not at work at the time)

 

[ainsworth74]

Dundee would be more appropriate

Aren't they doing that anyway to build some sort of new road?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Am I the only person on here who actually likes Glasgow? Not the most tourist-based city in the UK and it does have more than its fair share of rough areas but there are plenty of worse / uglier places to visit.

 

[sprinterguy]

Am I the only person on here who actually likes Glasgow?

Don't worry, you are not alone. I find Glasgow city centre very pleasant. In some ways I think that Glasgow benefits from being less tourist-driven than Edinburgh.