Miniature maker recreates Glasgow’s lost Union Corner after fire

A miniature of Union Corner has turned a fire-damaged Glasgow landmark into something painters and model makers can study up close: the Victorian corner building’s dome, roof signs and street-level businesses, all rebuilt in recycled cardboard by Karen Bones of Larbert.

Bones spent 10 weeks on the replica, giving the B-listed building at Union Street and Gordon Street, beside Glasgow Central station, the kind of measured attention scale work demands. The model does not just show the façade as a shell. It captures the details that make a landmark recognisable at a glance, including the iconic dome and the signs above the roofline, while also marking the businesses caught in the blaze.

That choice of what to include matters as much as the build itself. In miniature work, the strongest pieces often come from deciding which details carry the memory of a place. Bones’ version treats Union Corner less like a generic city block and more like a preserved scene, the sort of display that relies on clean reference, sharp edges and a deliberate read of the architecture rather than simple likeness. Recycled cardboard gave the project structure, but the emotional weight came from the reconstruction choices.

The original building was badly damaged after a fire that began on Sunday, March 8, 2026, apparently in a vape shop. The site later partially collapsed, forcing a major recovery and safety response around one of Glasgow’s most visible transport corners. Firefighting ended on Thursday, March 12, 2026, when the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service handed control of the site to Glasgow City Council.

Network Rail said the council established a safe zone around the remaining façade and added security measures while assessment and demolition work continued. The fire disrupted Glasgow Central station and nearby roads, compounding the pressure on a place that already sits at the heart of the city’s rail network. Glasgow City Council described the blaze as a major blow, saying it destroyed one of Glasgow’s historic and recognisable sites and affected residents and visitors alike.

Bones’ model now carries that loss into miniature form, not as abstraction but as a record of what stood there. For a hobby built on texture, weathering and fidelity to the real world, Union Corner has become more than a subject. It is a reminder that scale models can hold memory when the original building cannot.