Cam Skate
Transport Museum - Glasgow
From the outset, the Glasgow Museum of Transport was designed with street skateboarding in mind.
Skateboarders have been encouraged to skate parts of the building itself and in the area surrounding the building. Rather than attempting to prevent this usage they instead have embraced and actively encourage it, and in turn to encourage a younger demographic to have a reason to visit the museum.
Skateable ledges at the entrance to the museum
Rather than discourage the informal use of the hard landscape by skateboarders and cyclists, the Riverside museum provides an undulating and kerb-free space for this hard-to-attract young audience. Inside the museum, teenage transport is further validated through displays on Glasgow skateboarding, BMX and chopper bikes.
Completed additions to Riverside Museum of Transport
Skateable spaces like this need to be reviewed once they are used, and sometimes adapted to fit the needs of non-skaters.
The Transport Museum found that skateboarders occasionally caused issues for pedestrians trying to access the museum entrance.
The museum's solution was to create a new skate area away from the main entrance, with a plaza feeling and street-style obstacles. This style of skateable space also proved to be very cost effective.
This model serves as a great example for Donkey Common - a central and visible skate spot that fits with the surrounding area, visible to other users of the space, but not directly overlapping with them.
All this was achieved in a matter of months on a sub £15k budget because we had a willing partner/landowner in Glasgow Museums, a committed and flexible contractor and an innovative yet frugal vision for the site. Hopefully it can act as an inspiration for other local authorities and statutory bodies as it proves you don’t need hundreds of thousands of pounds and years of toil to create something that skaters will enjoy.
© SKATEBOARD CAMBRIDGE CIC 2022