Anderston Hippos
The Anderston Hippos were reinstated in 2017 as part of Sanctuary Housing's £60 million regeneration of the Anderston area in Glasgow. The original concrete hippos, beloved 1960s public artworks remembered fondly by generations of local residents, had deteriorated beyond repair. To preserve the landmark sculptures, Sanctuary commissioned new replicas moulded directly from the originals, ensuring the trio could return to their historic site as faithfully as possible.
Reinstalled in the heart of the redeveloped neighbourhood, the hippos continue to act as symbols of community identity and childhood memory. Local schoolchildren gave the newly returned sculptures their first ever formal names: Rocky, Kiboko, and Alexanderston — a gesture connecting the area's past with its newest young residents.
Their restoration forms part of a wider, award-winning regeneration project that created 540 new affordable homes and reintroduced public art as a core feature of Anderston's renewed streetscape.
Reinstalled in the heart of the redeveloped neighbourhood, the hippos continue to act as symbols of community identity and childhood memory. Local schoolchildren gave the newly returned sculptures their first ever formal names: Rocky, Kiboko, and Alexanderston — a gesture connecting the area's past with its newest young residents.
Their restoration forms part of a wider, award-winning regeneration project that created 540 new affordable homes and reintroduced public art as a core feature of Anderston's renewed streetscape.
