The Hope Sculpture at Cuningar Loop

The Hope Sculpture by Steuart Padwick is a public art installation across 3 locations in Glasgow and is a COP26 legacy gift from over 50 companies, who donated free materials and expertise for the project.

The 23.5m high Hope Sculpture is situated in Clyde Gateway’s beautiful woodland park at Cuningar Loop. The 4.5m high Beacon of Hope, made from Scottish grown Sitka Spruce is located at the city’s architecturally significant Glasgow Central Station and the 3.5m high Hope Triptych, from reclaimed sheet steel, is at the University of Strathclyde’s Rottenrow Gardens.

Each sculpture was constructed using low carbon, reclaimed, recycled or sustainable materials, of which, almost all were locally sourced.

The monumental Hope Sculpture features an age, gender, race neutral child, reaching out to a greener, hopeful future. The child stands above the towering, 20m high elegant columns that take their form from the brick chimney stalks that once littered the East End of Glasgow.

The sculpture is the UK’s first 100% cement free concrete superstructure and includes recycled gas pipes for the piling. The bespoke cement free concrete was developed by the Aggregate Industries’ technical experts in close partnership with the project team. This high strength product is part of their ECOPact Max green concrete range and reduces the carbon footprint by more than 70% compared to a standard concrete. This concrete mix utilises a local Duntilland Dolerite aggregate and sand and the cast child includes 20% recycled glass aggregate from Dryden Aqua, who recycle about a quarter of Scotland’s glass. The addition of glass to this structural concrete is made possible due to the mix being cement free. This globally significant achievement will act as a catalyst for change and contribute hugely to the environmental debate and positive legacy of COP26.

Locally quarried Caithness stone form the landscaping and benches. Soft, low energy lighting is respectful of the environment and local wildlife and uses fittings designed and manufactured in Scotland for the Circular Economy.

Linking built environment with improved mental well-being, the team worked with Mental Health Foundation on all messaging. 30 words of Hope were written by some of Scotland’s favourite voices, writers and poets including Jackie Kay, Andrew O’Hagan, Ali Smith, and 2020 Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart as well as local school children. These words (several in Gaelic) have been inscribed directly onto all 3 of the sculptures including the Caithness stones at Cuningar Loop.