Architecture Glasgow

ARCHITECTURE GLASGOW
by Penny Lewis, editor of Prospect Scotland magazine

This year Scotland exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious architecture event, for the first time. Featured at the event were fourteen Scottish designers, six of them from Glasgow. Their work has been brought together in an exhibition called Landforms, designed by NORD, a young Glasgow practice and showcases Glasgow projects by Page and Park, McKeown Alexander, Gordon Murray and Alan Dunlop, Zoo Architects, Chris Stewart Architects and landscape architects City Design Co-op.

These architects belong to a generation of ambitious designers that have emerged as major players in the regeneration of Glasgow. In the last decade the city has invested in its creative talent, hosting events such as European Capital of Culture in 1990 and UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999. The main legacies of the year-long 1999 festival are The Lighthouse, Scotland’s centre for Architecture, Design and the City and Homes for the Future, an innovative housing project master-planned by Page and Park Architects on the edge of Glasgow Green.

The city has two vibrant architecture schools, The Mackintosh School based at the School of Art and another at the University of Strathclyde. These have given rise to a pool of architectural talent, which includes practices such as Elder and Cannon - the architects of St Aloysius’ College, and Page and Park - designers of The Lighthouse, The Museum of Scottish Country Life and the Italian Centre, a chic shopping area in the heart of the city.

Glasgow has a fine architectural heritage, a magnificent city grid and a collection of fine Georgian and Victorian buildings. Along with the major influences of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, there are other hugely significant names such as JJ Burnett, who designed the Barony Church, and James Miller, creator of the Bank of Scotland on St Vincent Street.

Practices working in the city today recognise its fine architectural heritage but they also challenge the norm, creating work that fuses the traditional and the contemporary.

David Page has been a ‘New’ Glaswegian since 1970. He studied architecture at the University of Strathclyde, and went on to found Page and Park architects in 1981 with Brian Park. Page’s philosophy is clear:

“Page and Park is built upon a fusion of the post-war mentality, which needs to renew everything, and a re-emergence of a respect for the past. This ethos influences everything that we do.

“One of the great features of Glasgow is that it has always been able to absorb different design influences. The city’s urban style at the moment tends towards thinking and building big.

“It is an exciting time as there is a very diverse range of tastes and styles. I have always believed Glasgow has to ride the balance between contemporary and traditional.”