GLASGOW is to have an impressive new addition to the city skyline ...
but for only for one day.
French artist Olivier Grossetete is building a 60ft cardboard tower in Brunswick Street.
As part of the Merchant City Festival, Olivier, from Marseille, needs help from creative locals to build the structure – which will then be pushed over.
He said: "This is the first time I have been to Glasgow and I've seen lots of beautiful architecture so I have tried to design the tower to fit in with that.
"Part of the fun is destroying it at the end – children love that part and jump all over it.
"What is important is not that we keep it but that it has existed, that we have achieved something. All building must come down eventually, after all."
Olivier, who built a tower at this year's Burns An' A' That Festival in Ayr, has spent one week working on the various sections of the massive structure in the Briggait art centre on Bridgegate.
The sections will be transported to Brunswick Street ready to be put together on Sunday. It will take around 100 people to lift the tower, which will weigh one tonne, and the more volunteers, the higher the tower can be. Olivier added: "We build the roof first and lift it up then the other sections are added underneath so it goes higher and higher. We need as many people as possible to help us lift it and, hopefully, the weather will stay dry."
Hannah Newlands, 12, and her friends helped build part of the tower. She said: "It was good fun and we got to work for a real artist and contribute to something impressive. Seeing it kicked down again will be fun."
Olivier has built cardboard towers and buildings at various sites around the world.But his next big project is to build an entire cardboard city in Marseille for its year as City of Culture in 2013.
The Merchant City Festival runs from July 25 to 29 and will see more than 300 events across 75 venues in the city. Another artistic celebration will be John Cage at 100, a free performance at City Halls on July 28 to mark the 100th birthday of the composer.
Part of the performance will involve an amplified cactus, pieces of crumpled paper, stereo cassette players and a piano filled with nuts and bolts. Performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra it will involve BBC Principal Guest Conductor Ilan Volkov and pianist John Tilbury.
Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "It's hugely exciting that a performance by musicians of Ilan Volkov and John Tilbury's standing is to feature in the Merchant City Festival programme.
"It demonstrates just how highly regarded the festival is among the finest artists, musicians and performers in Scotland and beyond."
To help build the tower go to Brunswick Street from 9am on Sunday.
catriona.stewart@ eveningtimes.co.uk