Hunterian Art Gallery – Glasgow

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The Gallery is housed in a modern, custom-built facility that is part of the extensive Glasgow University Library complex, designed by William Whitfield.

Sir William Whitfield had roots in concrete and brick brutalism but took contextual postmodernism to a Palladian mansion that traditionalists admired. Principal of a small office for almost 50 years, his diversity of work was shot through with recurring themes and was distinguished by thoughtful synthesis of precedent.

RIBA

This displays the university’s extensive art collection, and features an outdoor sculpture garden.

The bas relief aluminium doors to the Hunterian Gallery were designed by sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi.

The gallery’s collection includes a large number of the works of James McNeill Whistler and the majority of the watercolours of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The Mackintosh House is a modern concrete building, part of the gallery-library complex.

The Mackintosh House comprises the principal interiors of the original house – including the dining room, studio-drawing room and bedroom, largely replicating the room layout of the old end-of-terrace building. It features the meticulously reassembled interiors from the Mackintoshes’ home, including items of original furniture, fitments and decorations.

Wikipedia

Glasgow Central Signal Box

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Situated at the junction of Salkeld Street and Cook Street

Glasgow Central Signalling Centre, located in the vee of Bridge Street Junction, opened on 2 January 1961. It replaced signal boxes at Central Station, Bridge Street Junction, Eglinton Street Junction and Eglinton Street Station. When initially opened it was capable of handling 1,000 routes.

Glasgow Central Signalling Centre closed on 27 December 2008, when its area of control was transferred to the new West of Scotland Signalling Centre – WSSC at Cowlairs. The NX panel is to be preserved. The station is currently signalled by two Westinghouse Westlock Interlockings which are controlled via an Alstom MCS control system.

Wikipedia

Ambulance HQ – Glasgow

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48 Milton Street and Maitland Street Glasgow G4 0LR

Scottish Ambulance Headquarters on Maitland Street and the adjoining St Andrew’s House with it’s entrance on 48 Milton Street. Designed by Skinner, Bailey & Lubetkin in the late 1960s. Originally two linked buildings, they now act independently with St Andrew’s House occupied by St Andrew’s first aid and the Headquarters next door currently lying vacant April 2011.

Berthold Lubetkin in top hat beside caryatid at the entrance to Highpoint Two – North Hill Highgate London.

ribapix

One of the only two buildings in Scotland designed by this architectural practice with Lubetkin acting as a consultant. Lubetkin is one of the outstanding figures of pre-war British architecture – penguin pool, London zoo & Highpoint Flats, London. Lubetkin designed the main cross of the north elevation and the main staircase, Bailey was the lead architect on this project. Both buildings are A listed.

Architecture Glasgow

By the mid 1960s, Lubetkin was based at his farm in Gloucestershire, Skinner in London and Bailey in Glasgow. Bailey asked Lubetkin to work out the design of the main staircase and parts of the principal elevation, notably the large cross. Lubetkin’s staircases are particularly spectacular and the St Andrew’s one is no exception. Allan notes that the Lubetkin leitmotif was the controlled collision of straight and curved geometry and this would appear to be exemplified here in the triangular plan geometric staircase which ends in a gentle curve at the ground floor. It is possible that Lubetkin may have influenced the vertical timber panelling in the boardroom. While that in the main hall is smooth and varnished, the boardroom has been sandblasted to present a weathered appearance. At Highpoint Two Lubetkin designed the interior and furniture for the penthouse flat with walls of vertical roughened sand-blasted pine panelling.

Historic Environment Scotland

ribapix

Acorn Property Group has applied to Glasgow City Council for permission to convert the Maitland Street property.

The developers want to repair and refurbish the building, at Cowcaddens, before offering managed workspaces.

Glasgow World

This is a walk around the street view of the building during my first visit to Glasgow in April 2022 – there was no evidence of any redevelopment work taking place.

Queen Margaret Union – Glasgow University

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The Queen Margaret Union – QMU on 22 University Gardens was designed by Walter Underwood & Partners and opened in 1968.

1978

The building has an illustrious history as a top music venue.

And the city a heritage of angular, jangly guitar Power Pop.

It is now renowned and venerated as a Brutalist landmark – featuring in the modernist society publication Braw Concrete by Peter Halliday and Alan Stewart – available right here.

Let’s take a look at how it looked way back in April 2022.

In addition, if you nip around the back you get to go up and down a delightful concrete staircase!

The Pyramid at Anderston – Glasgow

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759 Argyle Street Glasgow G3 8DS

Architects: Honeyman, Jack & Robertson

I was walking along St Vincent Street one rainy day.

From the corner of my left eye, I espied a pyramid.

Curious, I took a turn, neither funny nor for the worse, the better to take a closer look.

Following a promotion within the Church of Scotland to construct less hierarchical church buildings in the 1950s, an open-plan Modern design with Brutalist traits, was adapted for the new Anderson Parish Church. The building consists of a 2-storey square-plan church with prominent pyramidal roof, with over 20 rooms. The foundation stone was laid in 1966, with a service of commemoration in the now demolished St Mark’s-Lancefield Church. The building was completed in 1968.

Let’s take a look around outside.

Later that same day, I got a message from my friend Kate to visit her at the centre.

She is charged with co-ordinating a variety of activities at The Pyramid.

In 2019 the Church of Scotland sold the building and it became a community centre for people to:

Connect, create and celebrate.

It also serves as an inspirational space for music, performances, conferences and events.

Let’s take a look around inside.

As a footnote the recent STV Studios produced series SCREW was filmed here!

Adam Smith Building – Glasgow

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Architects: David Harvey, Alex Scott & Associates – 1967

The Adam Smith Building, named in honour of the moral philosopher and political economist, Adam Smith, was formally opened on 2 November 1967 by Sydney George Checkland, Professor of Economic History from 1957 to 1982. The building was the first of the University’s multipurpose blocks housing a large number of departments, and a library for Political Economy, Social and Economic Research, Economic History, Political and Social Theory and Institutions, Management Studies, Psychology, Social Psychology, Accountancy, Citizenship, Anthropology, Criminology, Industrial Relations, and the School of Social Study. A records store was provided beneath the Library for the Economic History department to house their rapidly growing collection of business records from the vanishing Clyde shipyards and heavy engineering workshops, which now form part of the Scottish Business Archive held at University of Glasgow Archive Services.

Archives Hub

Eastern Elevation 1973
Southern Elevation 1978

Wandering almost aimlessly around the campus, when the blue mosaic caught my eye.

The glass stairwell drew me in further.

Entering the building I explained myself to the passing janitor:

I’m intrigued by the stairways of 1960s civic buildings.

There are two – he helpfully replied.

Further intrigued I took a good look around – first up one.

Reaching the top and discovering the Lecture Theatre.

Then down the other.

The mosaic mural at the foot of the main staircase was the work of George Garson, the head of the Mural Design and Stained Glass department at the Glasgow School of Art.

A quick look around the outside and then on my way.

Cumbernauld Housing

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Sunday morning in Glasgow, I caught the first train out from Queen Street Station.

In October 2017, a £120 million project began on bringing the station up to modern standards, demolishing many of the 1960s buildings and replacing them with a new station concourse, which was completed in 2021.

I arrived in Cumbernauld and walked toward the Central Way and back again.

Cumbernauld was designated as a new town in December 1955, part of a plan, under the New Towns Act 1946, to move 550,000 people out of Glasgow and into new towns to solve the city’s overcrowding. Construction of its town centre began under contractors Duncan Logan, chief architect Leslie Hugh Wilson and architect Geoffrey Copcutt – until 1962 and 1963, and later Dudley Roberts Leaker, Philip Aitken and Neil Dadge.

Wikipedia

This is the housing that I saw.