A plot of derelict land in Glasgow, once known for its steel galvanising factories, has been transformed into SWG3 (Studio Warehouse Glasgow) – one of Europe’s major independent arts venues.
Roughly 6700 square meters of unused land were a part of SWG3’s plans to create a net-zero site and fulfill the city’s need for a communal garden space.
A local Altaterra employee heard about the project, and together with his colleagues from both Altaterra and VELUX GBI decided to raise the topic to the Employee Foundation. As a part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability and community projects, the Employee Foundation decided to donate funds to restore the garden area of SWG3, as well as bring out volunteers for the day to help out. Around 30 volunteers from both Altaterra and VELUX dug and planted more than 700 trees and shrubs, finishing the day off with a graffiti workshop.
“We wanted to restore this area and turn it into a green yet urban environment for the local community, where everyone can come and enjoy it”, says Richard Williams, Architectural Development Manager for VELUX GBI. “It was a great opportunity to show the local community that this is what our organisation is about – and the fact that we got to do it as a collaboration between Altaterra and VELUX employees makes it even better. It was a great project that made everyone involved very proud, and helped create a sense of togetherness”, he says.
The idea came to life just as the Green Areas and Outdoor Life Programme was introduced by the Employee Foundation. “The goal of the programme is to contribute to developing green areas and promote healthy outdoor living by volunteering and donating for the development of such places”, say Henrik Øvlisen, the Programme manager. “I think having volunteers from both Altaterra and VELUX work on this project was a great way to implement some team building between the two companies”, he continues.
As a complete and fully operational site, SWG3 is now an area with bars and cafes, open offices for creatives, venues for exhibitions, workshops, concerts and other cultural events. Currently, there are ideas on how to continue developing the area, one of them being turning old VELUX windows into benches for the communal garden. SWG aims to have 250 000 visitors a year to the area, making it one of the top 10 tourist attractions in Scotland.