20 September 2025 (09:00 - 17:00)
Discover the Glue Factory’s transformation from a private industrial building into a vibrant cultural space. Join a guided tour with our directors and explore artists’ studios. Participatory Interior Designer Josafinni will also be organising and hosting a workshop "City Building at The Glue Factory" for children aged 5 - 12 years old.
Agile City will be holding an event in Glue Factory, members of the public are invited to explore the building and ask questions.
This event will primarily consist of a walking tour of Glue Factory, marking an opportunity for members of the local community, neighbours and the general public to witness first-hand the physical and cultural transformation taking place inside what was originally a private building.
Tours will begin with a short presentation led by Agile City Directors, Rob Morrison and Abigale Neate Wilson, who will speak about:
● The architectural and social history of the Glue Factory and its surrounding area.
● Its redevelopment and current day-to-day operations as a long-lease studio complex.
● Agile City's ethos and wider mission to create a city campus of ‘micro-power-stations’ - a ‘living lab’ of energy and ideas to help drive Scotland’s journey to net zero.
Members of the public will then be invited to join a walk around the building with our directors. This will offer the time to speak candidly about the space, and visitors are invited to ask questions. To coincide with the tour, Glue Factory residents (primarily consisting of artists, designers, designers, printmakers, fabricators and small business owners) will open their private studios to the public for the duration of the day. Visitors will be invited to:
● Meet the tenants.
● See the work in progress.
● Get insight into the rich and varied practices that define the creative ecology of the building.
In conjunction with our walking tour event, Participatory Interior Designer Josafinni will be organising and hosting a workshop, for children aged 5 - 12. "City Building at The Glue Factory" is a 2-hour drop-in workshop where participants co-create an imaginative city using cardboard, recycled materials, and storytelling prompts.
The open-ended format includes flexible stations such as a story dice table and a collaborative build zone, encouraging playful thinking around how cities can look and feel. Juice and fruit will be provided to create a welcoming environment for families and support best practice in community engagement.
Overview
Glue Factory is a flexible studio workspace and making/production facility - providing light-industrial studios, workshops and venue spaces for design, fabrication and film.
Construction on the original building started in 1891, and was designed by John Keppie, with the assistance of a junior Charles Rennie Macintosh. It has had many uses - from a mineral water factory, manufacturing of Argyle Cycles, and finally Scottish Adhesives Company who left the building vacant for 12 years before it started to be used for cultural activity in 2010. The building has retained many of its original features, standing testament to its long and varied life.
Glue Factory is currently undergoing its second phase of capital works, ensuring that the building remembers its industrial heritage while championing progressive approaches to sustainable and regenerative energy production and consumption in the post-industrial landscape.
Glue Factory is split over two levels, connected via stairs. There are currently no lifts, automatic/assisted doors but each floor fully accessible via 2 entrances (a member of staff will be on hand to assist with accessibility support).
There is no dedicated Blue Badge Parking.
Ground floor: Fully accessible via Burns St roller shutter entrance (door width 2m), with gender neutral cubicles and one accessible toilet.
First floor: Fully accessible via Farnell St ramp entrance (door width 1.4m), but currently no additional accessible toilet on the first floor.
Tank Room: Main floor not accessible, Mezzanine access via Farnell St ramp.

Address
Glue Factory, 22 Farnell Street, Glasgow, G49SE