Exhibition: Building Scotland 1945-1985

A photographic exhibition exploring Scotland's recent past through its twentieth century architecture is free to view throughout August at Glasgow City Heritage Trust. There are some unlikely additions to the roster which have been selected for the important points they make about Scotland's history between 1945 and 1985. Typographical House, Glasgow's derelict 1950s office-block at Clyde Street is one of the more surprising entries which is highlighted for its rarity as a small-scale office building, and its social history links, once serving as home to the Graphical, Paper and Media Union. Other structures such as Sillitto House in Edinburgh and the M8 Bailleston Interchange pull off the same feat; the commonplace propelling us to renewed appreciation of the local built environment and to reflect on what the architecture says about the people who inhabit it.

Docomomo Scotland, active campaigners for the conservation of Scotland's twentieth century architecture produced the exhibition for Glasgow City Heritage Trust. Docomomo Scotland is the local branch of Docomomo International, the committee for the documentation and conservation of buildings designed in the Modern Movement. Their organisation's website is well worth a gander for links to news items about the event and to related websites including this self-made Google map of 60 key Scottish monuments. From the website, you can also access this year's annual edition of MoMo World Scotland, an excellent, newsy introduction to modernist architecture in Scotland.

Building Scotland: 1945-1985 runs until September 2nd at the Heritage Trust's offices in Bell Street - directions here. Some of the examples of the structures on display can be browsed via the BBC's news website here.

Library Outing to St Peter's Seminary, Cardross

Last Saturday, a troupe of intrepid ramblers, otherwise known as GSA Library & Learning Resources team, embarked on a self-guided tour of the Kilmahew Estate in Cardross. We had absconded from Garnethill with one simple mission: to find the ruins of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's masterpiece, St Peter's Seminary. And, of course, to discuss it over lunch! It's fair to say that this had all the hallmarks of a Gillespie, Kidd & Coia pilgrimage being made in the footsteps of early Christian missionaries, Scots nobility and trainee priests as we soon discovered from our appointed tour-guide, Architecture Librarian David Buri!

We set off in the morning under a murky-looking sky and proceeded into the woods at Kilmahew Estate - a moving sea of cagoules and backpacks. Thankfully for us, the weather was on our side, and as we progressed further from the perimeter and through the rhododendrons, the only thing we had to fear was the odd crack of a golf-ball from Cardross Golf Course, in dangerously close proximity to the track! Stepping through the undergrowth, we tried to recreate in our minds the original grandeur of the the estate's ornamental gardens, driveways and parkland. Two exceptionally tall redwood trees flanking the path at the original entrance were a reminder of the estate's historic roots and the status it would have enjoyed, only decades ago. 

At the top of the route we reached our destination: the dramatic ruins of St Peter's Seminary, built in the 1960s and abandoned since 1980. The post-apocalyptic scene we encountered is something to behold: a derelict building, ravished by time, blemished by grafitti, yet still powerfully capable of inducing frissions down the spine. Perhaps it's down to our current fetish for all things Brutalist, but this was similar to experiencing the sublime in nature - achieved through architecture!

The photos we're used to seeing in the GKC Archive in GSA's Archive and Collection Centre are black and white so we were unprepared for Kilmahew Estate's vivid colours. Sienna-cobbled stonework, red tree-bark, green, lilac and pink shrubbery and neon grafitti have created a unique collage: something like a forgotten space-ship crash in medieval times or the set of a science-fiction film! At close range, it's overwhelmingly apparent why the seminary is often given the accolade of being the best example of work by partners Andy MacMillan and Izi Metzstein and is revered by many as the most important piece of twentieth-century modernist architecture in post-war Britain. The contrasting curved and angular walls of the complex envelope the ruins of the once standing Kilmahew House which once stood as the structure's fourth wall. The majestic design and the scale of the concrete build is incredible; as too is the clear level of disrepair. We were thrilled, surprised and dismayed all at once!

As one of the few post-war buildings to be granted A-listed status, there is something melancholic and aesthetically-alluring about the seminary's abandonment, demise and unorthodox appropriation by grafitti artists. While its conservation seems to be something of an architectural frisbee, plans to conserve it as a community space were submitted by landscape architects erz in February of this year. To read more about the proposed rehabilitation of St Peter's, make sure to check for updates on Glasgow Architecture's website.

Reincarnation emerged as a recurrent theme as we followed the tour onwards. The entire Kilmahew Estate has had many incarnations - each new vision and design has been followed by decline and ruin. After the excitement of the seminary, we also discovered the ruins of nearby Kilmahew Castle, and explored the gardens where an ornamental pond, waterfall and rhododendron tunnel can be found. It was then onto a nearby farm-shop and tearoom for a well-deserved lunch and post-tour analysis! We even found time to stop at nearby Geilston Hall on the road back to Glasgow, a drill-house designed by a young Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1889.

The tour is free to download from The Royal Geographical Society's website as part of the Discovering Britain project. You can download written and audio guides from the website. The booklet (available to download here: Kilmahew – walk booklet and in stock in GSA Library) includes the black and white images of St Peter’s Seminary from the GSA Gillespie, Kidd & Coia archive. Check the ACC blog for related GKC posts.

Brutally Honest - Scottish Brutalism Site from University of Strathclyde

The threat of demolition looming large over increasing numbers of Brutalist buildings has inadvertently thrust the style back into the public conscience. Down the road at University of Strathclyde, planners are still refusing to rule out demolition of its famous architecture building while in England, Preston Council's bid to block Preston Bus Station being granted listed heritage status rumbles on.

Brutalist architecture has courted controversy since its inception in 1950s Britain. Simultaneously held up as an affordable solution for public buildings and cheap housing and as an urban decay problem, the buildings have, over the decades, weathered the critics little better than the elements. As more beleaguered buildings are condemned to demolition, efforts are being stepped up to conserve the architecture style's heritage.

Enter research student Ross Brown who has launched the website scotbrut.co.uk to accompany the Scottish Brutalism project at the University of Strathclyde. The site is modestly being billed as a work in progress, downplaying the extremely useful and well-researched content on offer. The aim is to illustrate the quality and variety of the architecture style around Glasgow and the west region of Scotland through the continuous mapping, documenting and archiving of prime examples. There are a number of high-quality images of the Strathclyde campus and the Charing Cross area, as well as an article by Brown on Glasgow School of Art's former Newbery Tower. Our top tip would be to check the links to other sites, which lists Robert Proctor and Ambrose Gillick's project-blog on Roman Catholic Architecture in Britain, and the illustrated online database of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia images. The fact that many of these sites have direct relevance to the Brutalist style, is in itself, evidence of growing popular interest.

To be alerted to new posts from the scotbrut.co.uk website, follow @scotbrut on Twitter, or join the mailing list.

Spomeniks - Lost Between Sculpture and Architecture

Jan Kempenaer's series of photographic works focusing on Spomeniks, the abstract, concrete monuments punctuating the boundaries of the countries once comprising the former Yugoslavia, is available to view here. Kampenaer's work is preoccupied with the 18th century Picturesque tradition and his photographs of these oddly incongruous structures consider the enforcement of societal rules upon the natural landscape. Out of the many hundreds of Spomeniks commissioned in the years following World War II, most have since been demolished or neglected, their location only discoverable through committed research or spontaneous encounter in the wooded, mountainous regions where they were constructed. The isolation of these once magnificent emblems of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia raises interesting questions around the function of architecture which could be thought of as ideologically defunct. Should the Spomeniks be confined to history or should their use be reconsidered, as perhaps Kempenaer's photographs intend.

Department of Architecture Celebration Event at Strathclyde University

The University of Strathclyde Architecture Department are hosting a joint event with the new Glasgow Society, to celebrate its purpose-built building at 131 Rottenrow and to showcase the works of GSA graduate and sculptor, Charles Anderson. The evening event on 26th March will be split into two parts; the first focused on Charles Anderson's successful career as a professional mural painter and sculptor, and the second on the construction of the architecture school by Fielden and Associates in 1965-66.

Charles Anderson studied Drawing & Painting at the School of Art under Donald Donaldson and Mary Armour, graduating with the Diploma in 1959. The many examples of his sculptural works to be found in Scotland include the Glasgow Charing Cross wall mural and concrete wall sculpture at the entrance to the Strathclyde Architecture School Building the event is being held. The second half of the evening will be led by Professor Frank A. Walker, an academic in the Strathclyde department and John C. Cunningham, another successful GSA graduate who was chief-architect on the Architecture Department project.

The event is bound to be of interest for all who have an interest in 1960's Scottish art and architecture, not least given its apt location in the iconic Strathclyde Architecture School Building.

Anyone interested in attending would be wise to book a place in advance at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/event/5787048217?ref=emobiem

Kernels of History - Glasgow's Odeon Cinema

With demolition imminent at Glasgow's Odeon Cinema on Renfield Street, a posting by the Urban Exploration Forums gives us snapshots of this one-time great institution. 

Once the busiest picture-house in the city, the Odeon was designed by architects Frank T. Verity & Samuel Beverly in the early 1930s. It was originally built as a single 2800-seater cinema and opened as the Paramount Theatre in 1934. The building was promptly snapped up by the Odeon chain and flourished as a popular music venue - the Beatles and the Rolling Stones both famously played here in its halcyon days! The cinema was divided into smaller screens in 1969-70, by which time the neon lights lighting-up the uber-cool curved entrance and bare brick walls were also gone. The history books may critique Odeon for stripping the building of its glamorous 30s interiors to bring it in line with the company's corporate image yet, thanks to the building's Grade B listed status, the Art Deco facade and entrance-hall should be retained. 

In the days before Cineworld's domination, the Odeon, for many, was the main place to queue around the block, waiting for the doors to open on the latest picture. Those doors may have closed to the public in 2006, the building due to be transformed into another office block, but the photographs will ensure its legacy is always shown.
http://www.urbexforums.com/showthread.php/14800-Odeon-Cinema-Renfield-St-Glasgow-24-3-11-%28Permission-Visit

Churches in the modern world

A current exhibition (http://www.thelighthouse.co.uk//visit/exhibition/churches-in-the-modern-world1) at the Lighthouse in Glasgow presents case study buildings which illustrate how some post-war church architects and their clients in the UK moved away from tradition and conservatism to modernity. It explores the wider context of religious, social and urban change, and is one of the outcomes of an Arts and Humanities Research Council supported project led by Dr Robert Proctor of the Mackintosh School of Architecture. On 26 September at 6pm there will be a seminar at the Lighthouse with three speakers, including Bob Proctor, Dominic Wilson talking about F X Velarde, and Diane Watters on Scottish church architecture.

Bertrand Goldberg and Marina City

We've just added a new book, 'Bertrand Goldberg, architecture of invention' to library stock. It's the catalogue of the exhibition currently at the Art Institute of Chicago, which itself is accompanied by a website showcasing some little-known material. Anyone wanting to find out more about Goldberg's Marina City development might also be interested in a 'A city within a city'; an original brochure about the complex that we hold in our store.

Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield

The Concrete Centre has a short webcast which features David Chipperfield discussing the ideas behind his riverside Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, which uses concrete cast on-site.

CAST at the University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba's Centre for Architectural Studies and Technology (CAST) is an architectural research lab that seeks to embrace both the poetic and technical dimensions of architectural design. Its website has some particularly interesting information about its invention and development of flexible fabric formworks, or fabric-formed concrete, and provides an opportunity to see how the technology has been applied to a wide range of forms from curtain walls to branching structures.