September 18.

Recognition that the present layout of George Square in Glasgow is

unsatisfactory for citizen and visitor alike provides a timely

opportunity for its imaginative redesign, coinciding with Glasgow's bid

for City of Architecture and Design in 1999 (September 17).

To ensure that a new image complements Glasgow's renaissance as a

vibrant European city, should the design of the square not be offered as

a clearly briefed ideas competition, such as would be found in Paris or

Barcelona, to provoke greater debate and a broader range of stimulating

designs for this vital heart of Glasgow?

Alastair S Macdonald,

Senior Lecturer,

Product Design,

Glasgow School of Art.