Archinect - News

Mecanoo revives Scotland’s past into a new source of community pride

2024-04-08T17:26:00-04:00

Mecanoo has shared the news of its completed transformation of the Perth Museum in central Scotland.

The three-year construction yields 37,700 square feet worth of new public space inside of the Edwardian-style former City Hall that serviced the community from 1914 on. A specially carved Vennels-inspired intervention connects the two separate halls, framed by two new portals made from Black Isle timber and finished with a bronze casing.

Image credit: Greg Holmes Photography

Visitors will be welcomed into the brightly-lit new Main Hall archives space by a dramatic oak box container for the mythical returned Scottish Stone of Destiny. The adjacent Lesser Hall is thereafter recreated as a new communal space with larger windows and replete with a café and events venue.

Image credit: Greg Holmes Photography

This creates new panoramic views of the St. Johns Kirk church outside. Artifacts taken from the Jacobite period are on display within, including the silver broadsword used by Bonnie Pr...

Zaha Hadid Architects director designs ‘glowing, swirling’ whisky bottle for V&A Dundee

2024-03-25T13:24:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects director Melodie Leung has collaborated with Scottish whisky distillery Dalmore to create a “dramatic glass sculpture” housing two rare Highland Single Malt whiskies. The sculpture is the second chapter of ‘The Dalmore Luminary Series,’ a collaboration between the distillery and V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum.

Image credit: The Dalmore

Leung’s piece is titled ‘The Dalmore Luminary - The Rare - 2024 Edition’ and will be offered at auction with all proceeds donated to the museum. For the piece, Leung worked with Dalmore and master glass artist Fiaz Elson from The Glass Foundry to create a “dynamic glass amber sculpture” to house the 49-year-old Old Single Malt.

Image credit: The Dalmore

The sculpture was produced at The Glass Foundry’s kiln for 12 weeks. An initial molding was made at 890 degrees Celsius and held at that temperature for 15 hours to remove moisture and air bubbles. The temperature was then grad...

A 12th-century Scottish monk may have invented modern architectural drawing techniques, new research claims

2023-09-22T17:30:00-04:00

Research from a professor at the University of Aberdeen has advanced evidence that the art and practice of architectural drawing may have been invented by a 12th-century Scottish clergyman working in Paris around the time of the construction of Notre-Dame Cathedral and other important Gothic structures.

Dr. Karl Kinsella is a lecturer in Medieval Art History at the institution. His new book, God’s Own Language: Architectural Drawing in the Twelfth Century, presents the idea that a previously unknown monk named Richard the Scot was likely the first person to use the term ‘plan’ for drawings, sections, and elevations he apparently made in order to demonstrate the vantage point of the prophet Ezekiel's visions using then-modern concepts of geometry.

Kinsella says: “This is the earliest evidence we have of a complete visual description of a building including several plans, elevations and sections, but they appear in this strange theological work instead of coming out of building sites...

Former AIA President Peter Exley is appointed Architecture Dean at Robert Gordon University's Scott Sutherland School

2023-03-30T17:13:00-04:00

Former AIA President Peter Exley has been announced as the new Dean of the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Exley, who is currently an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will replace interim Head of School Bassam Bjeirmi, beginning in May. He comes to the position with numerous academic awards, including the 2002 Contribution to Art Education Award from the Illinois Alliance for Art Education; the 2020 Distinguished Service Award from the National Art Education Association; and the Nathan Clifford Ricker award for Teaching in Excellence, which he won in 2017.

“Robert Gordon University has a strong strategic plan and a vision to ensure that as a university community, we are aligned with the critical issues of our time,” Exley told Archinect. “For me, this is an exciting transition from my practice, and time as a leader in the AIA. The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture a...

Scotland will mandate passive house standards for all new social housing starts by 2024

2022-12-29T09:00:00-05:00

New legislation aimed at enacting a countrywide mandate for the use of passive house design standards in all new housing developments is gaining traction in Scotland after Labour MSP Alex Rowley’s bill was endorsed by the national government earlier this month.

The new Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill will now be fast-tracked through secondary legislation in order to be fully enacted by the end of 2024, according to a letter sent to Rowley by Scotland’s Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings Patrick Harvie.

In a statement, the UK’s Passivhaus Trust said: “It is a truly forward-thinking approach by the Scottish government and a positive response to the 2021 Scottish Climate Assembly recommendations. They are to be applauded for taking this crucial step towards meeting their net zero/climate emergency goals. Now we must ensure that the bill is well developed and implemented to deliver the greatest impact on the actual performance of new homes in Scotland.”

Related...

New video tells the story of a dissolving house saved by a record-breaking metal box

2022-02-10T11:47:00-05:00

In a rainy region of western Scotland, an architectural masterpiece has been given a new lease of life. Built in 1904, the Hill House is regarded as one of the most iconic residential homes to be designed by the famous architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. After over a century, however, the masterpiece mansion is feeling its age.

The Hill House Box, designed by Carmody Groarke, was completed in 2019. Now, a new video by British YouTuber Tom Scott offers new insights into the original building, the issue with its façade, and the architectural intervention undertaken to save it, including interviews with the building's managers.

Due to the wet, windy climate common to Scotland’s west coast, many buildings in the region are clad in a lime coating infused with small stones and pebbles. Once dried, the mixture forms a weatherproof layer to protect the building’s external walls from the elements. However, for the Hill House, Mackintosh departed from convention and replaced the lime coati...

Scotland's wind energy production capabilities surge

2019-10-09T15:00:00-04:00

Scotland will soon be meeting the equivalent of 100% of its electricity needs from clean energy sources. That’s the prediction made in a new report published by member organisation Scottish Renewables, which suggests renewable energy is providing signficant benefits to almost every aspect of the nation’s economy and is supporting major growth in terms of innovation, jobs, communities, climate progress and the rural economy.

The United Kingdom's green energy revolution is continuing apace following record-setting sustainable energy generation initiatives that have nearly eliminated the use of coal-fired energy in the country.

According to the Scottish government, Scotland's recent move to double-down on wind generation has produced enough electricity to power over 1.8 million homes.

All new public buildings in Scotland to be net-zero

2019-09-06T18:20:00-04:00

"In addition to working on a new ‘Net Zero Carbon’ standard for all new public buildings, the government also said it would oversee a ‘fundamental overhaul’ of building regulations to ensure that from 2024 all new homes use renewable or low-carbon heating," reports Architects' Journal (AJ).

The Scottish government's focus on net-zero has become a priority with the First Minister unveiling "plans for a £3 billion Green Investment Portfolio, a ‘Green City Deal’ for cities and regions and said the transition to net zero will be the primary mission of the Scottish National Investment Bank."

According to AJ, Sturgeon said: "Earlier this year, I acknowledged that Scotland—like the rest of the world—faces a climate emergency. We are now committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 at the latest—earlier than any other UK nation."

Battle over Brutalism in Scotland remains unresolved

2019-06-28T12:57:00-04:00

St Peter's Seminary in Cardross is a category A listed building - the highest level of protection for buildings of architectural or historic interest. It was closed as a training college for priests in the 1970s and left to ruin. The Catholic Church described it as an "albatross around our neck".

A battle is brewing in Cardross, Scotland over the uncertain future of St. Peter's Seminary, a 1960s-era Brutalist complex that has been abandoned for nearly 30 years.

Widely considered Scotland's most important 20th Century structure, the seminary was designed by architects Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and opened in 1966 only to be abandoned in the 1980s.

Wrapped in concrete arches and punctuated by a stepped atrium, the pebble-studded complex has been referred to as both Scotland’s best and worst 20th Century building. The seminary was listed as a "Category A" architectural relic in 1992, the country's highest designation for historic buildings. But even with this designation, plans to rehabilitate the structure have fallen short.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Tom Parnell.

Scottish architecture expert Alan Dunlop told the BBC, "I would go as far as saying this building is as important as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art."

Historic Environment Scotland, the country's ...

Carmody Groarke preserves Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House with an encasement

2019-06-11T13:19:00-04:00

The work of Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh belongs to the early modernist period, along with that of Austria's Adolf Loos and California's Irving Gill. Though Mackintosh built very few projects during his career, the few that have survived have continued to be of great importance for modern architectural history.

Hill House, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.

Hill House, built in 1904 in the hills of Helensburgh, Scotland, is among the most significant. Designed by Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, the home rises from the landscape like a castle stripped of all ornament, a novel mix of the old and new worlds. The 115 year old home has been a popular tourist destination for years, though it had long been in serious need of preservation. The wet weather of Northern Scotland has been increasingly challenging for the Portland cement exterior, and calls for preservation proposals were made in 2017.

Hill House Box, by Carmody...

Kengo Kuma's V&A Dundee Museum opens; interiors revealed!

2018-09-13T14:04:00-04:00

The V&A Dundee Museum opens its doors tomorrow with the 3D Festival, a free two-day event on September 14 and 15. The grand opening will include performances, dance, design, and lighting collaborations.

V&A Dundee Museum by Kengo Kuma, located in Scotland. ©HuftonCrow

The museum was designed by Kengo Kuma and is his first building in the UK. Along with the forthcoming opening, the museum has unveiled the interior architecture revealing a light filled wooden design.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Oak Room at the V&A Dundee ©HuftonCrow

Scottish Design Galleries V&A Dundee ©HuftonCrow

As Scotland's first design museum, the space features 300 exhibits drawn from the V&A’s collections of Scottish design, as well as from museums and private collections across Scotland and the world.

V&A Dundee Museum by Kengo Kuma, located in Scotland. ©HuftonCrow

Scottish Design Galleries V&A Dundee ©HuftonCrow

Free tickets to the 3D Festival on ...

New drone video shows off Kengo Kuma's soon to open V&A Dundee Museum

2018-08-23T17:03:00-04:00

The V&A Dundee Museum designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma is a massively dramatic stone-and-glass building. Located in the Scottish coastal city of Dundee, it will be the first institution outside of London to associate with the famous "Victoria & Albert" name and is the architect's first foray into the UK.

Drawing inspiration from the country's famously photogenic cliffs, the new museum is a modern design with a jagged exterior that has drawn comparisons to a Star Wars spacecraft. Positioned between the water and the city, the new museum is at the center of an almost $1.3 billion transformation of the city's waterfront intended to give fresh weight to the idea of Dundee as a destination.

Photo by Hufton+Crow.

Set to open next month, the V&A Dundee Museum will focus primarily on fashion, architecture, design and photography. Its inaugural exhibition, Ocean Liners: Speed & Style, will explore the design and cultural impact of ocean liners on an international scale.

The museum...

Microsoft’s undersea data center now has a webcam

2018-08-23T13:10:00-04:00

Microsoft has been experimenting with undersea data centers for years, and the current installation in the Orkney Islands will be deployed for around five years. There are 12 racks with 864 servers and 27.6 petabytes (27,600 terabytes) of storage [...] The data center is powered by a giant undersea cable that also connects it back to the internet, and the findings could mean the company will scale this project up to more powerful data centers in the future.

Microsoft has now installed a webcam by its undersea data center located off the shores of Scotland. The video stream is part of the company's efforts to observe environmental conditions of Project Natick, a research project aimed at determining the feasibility of subsea data centers powered by offshore renewable energy.

Check out the live video stream here.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners recently completed The Macallan whisky distillery in Scotland

2018-05-25T12:46:00-04:00

London-based firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners recently completed the Macallan Distillery and visitor experience in Speyside, Scotland. The design is set into the landscape of the The Macallan estate, a distillery established in 1824 producing one of the most sought after whiskys in the world.

Macallan Distillery by RSHP, located in Speyside, Scotland. Image: RSHP.

The firm's goals was to create a building that could reveal the production processes and welcome visitors while remaining sensitive to the beautiful surrounding countryside.

Macallan Distillery by RSHP, located in Speyside, Scotland. Image: RSHP.

The new distillery will enable production of The Macallan to increase by a third. Internally, a series of production cells are arranged in a linear format with an open-plan layout revealing all stages of the production process at once.

Macallan Distillery by RSHP, located in Speyside, Scotland. Image: RSHP.

Macallan Distillery by RSHP, located in Speyside, Scotland. Image: RSHP...

Carmody Groarke build a giant cage sustaining a Scottish landmark

2017-12-06T20:36:00-05:00

The Hill House in Helensburgh was built as "a home for the future" by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1902. But the experimental building material used has allowed water to soak into the building. Now, the National Trust for Scotland will surround the house with a protective "shield" in the form of a "giant cage" while it comes up with ways to restore it. The trust plans to build the huge see-through structure [...] over the top of the landmark to protect the building from the elements.

This temporary structure buys preservationists time in finding a permanent solution to the building's structural problem. While the design problem persists, architects Carmody and Groarke have allowed a unique opportunity for visitors to experience the landmark building from new perspectives with a surrounding walkway included in the cage.

Kengo Kuma visits his ship-like V&A Dundee museum as exterior nears completion

2017-10-18T16:09:00-04:00

Ten years after a Dundee V&A museum was first considered, the finishing touches are being applied to the exterior of the £80.1m building ahead of its opening next summer. [...] No amount of artist's impressions and computer-generated fly-throughs could have prepared the city for the true size and scale of the imposing design of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who will inspect the building on Wednesday.

Kengo Kuma was in Scotland today to inspect construction progress on the impressive V&A Museum of Design Dundee he designed.

Video via V&A Dundee on YouTube

He seemed very pleased, stating: "As an architect, seeing a completed building can be stressful, as some times the quality isn’t satisfactory. But in this case the quality, and the attention to detail has given me great satisfaction to see. I was so impressed when I saw how the building works together with the River Tay. Some museums are just boxes – this isn’t just a box, it is linked to nature."

Closeup of the exterior walls. Image via V&A Dundee on Facebook.

The project is making significant strides, having just completed the exterior walls with its 2,500 cast stone panels that wrap the volume like planks on a sailing ship. Construction crews also recently dismantled the temporary cofferdam that separated the structure from the River Tay.

The building is scheduled to open in 2018.

Glasgow School of Art unveils prototype of Mackintosh Library bay based on the original 1910 design

2017-09-08T18:09:00-04:00

Today, the Glasgow School of Art unveiled a full-size prototype of a section of the Mackintosh Library bay that is based on the original 1910 design, marking another step forward for the building's restoration after the devastating 2014 fire. Following two years of meticulous research and six months in the making, the prototype was presented in the workshops of specialist carpenters Laurence McIntosh and has been used for multiple design tests.

Mackintosh Library in 2014 (pre-fire). Photo © McAteer Photo.

“For those of you who remember the library as it was in 2014 the biggest change you will notice is the color. This is how we believe is how the library would have looked in 1910,” said Professor Tom Inns, Director of The Glasgow School of Art, in a statement. Columns and shelves that survived the fire revealed that much of the library was constructed with American Tulip wood, he added. The Tulipwood for the Library is currently being sourced in the U.S. and will then be manufacture...

From the Historic Massachusetts Cotton Mill, yellow pine timber gets a second life at the Mackintosh Building in Glasgow

2017-08-04T16:37:00-04:00

In May 2014, as students prepared their final-year degree show, the Mackintosh Building that houses The Glasgow School of Art was engulfed by flames and severely damaged. The building, built between 1897-1909, is one of the Scottish city's most famous structures. It is considered the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh's ultimate masterwork and in 2009, was awarded RIBA's "Sterling of Sterlings prize" when chosen, through a nationwide poll, as the best British-designed building of the past 175 years. About 90% of the historic building was spared by the fire but the library, one of the finest examples of art nouveau design, as well as the Japanese-inspired Studio 58 were almost entirely destroyed.

The Mackintosh Library (pre-fire). © McAteer Photograph

Studio 58 (after the fire) © McAteer Photograph

Soon after, a careful restoration plan began headed by the Glasgow-based firm, Page\Park architects. Work on the building has been in constant progress since the summer of 2014, beginning w...

Seven big-name architecture teams to compete for Ross Pavilion in Edinburgh

2017-03-28T13:58:00-04:00

Over 125 competitive teams — made up of some 400 individual firms — representing 22 countries vied for a chance to design the £25 million Ross Pavilion, in the latest initiative to rejuvenate the culturally significant Ross Bandstand and West Princes Street Gardens in the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland. Today, the Ross Development Trust in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council and Malcolm Reading Consultants jointly announced the seven finalist teams who will submit design concepts for the site.

Following “an intense and demanding process” according to Jury Chair Norman Springford, here are the big-name architects who will lead their teams in phase two:

The Ross Bandstand (south). Photo © Malcolm Reading Consultants / David Springford.

Adjaye Associates (UK) with Morgan McDonnell, BuroHappold, Turley, JLL, Arup, Plan A Consultants, Charcoalblue and Sandy Brown Associates
BIG Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark) with jmarchitects, GROSS. MAX., WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, Alan Baxter As...

Society of Architectural Historians to Host 70th Annual International Conference in Glasgow

2017-01-11T13:55:00-05:00

It’s a privilege to be welcoming some 600 international professionals from the Society of Architectural Historians to Glasgow this summer. It’s also a milestone meeting as it marks the first time the SAH has held its annual congress outside North America in more than 40 years and it comes during our national Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology—so it’s altogether fitting that it has chosen Glasgow for its first-ever visit to Scotland.

The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) will hold its 70th Annual International Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, from June 7–11, 2017, marking the first time SAH has met outside North America since 1973. An estimated 600 historians, architects, preservationists, and museum professionals from around the world will convene to present new research on the history of the built environment at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology & Innovation Centre. The conference program will feature paper sessions, keynote talks, roundtables, social receptions, and public events including architecture tours in and around Glasgow and a seminar on heritage and sustainability.

Aileen Crawford, Head of Conventions at Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: “It’s a privilege to be welcoming some 600 international professionals from the Society of Architectural Historians to Glasgow this summer. It’s also a milestone meeting as it marks the first time the SAH has held its annual congress outside Nort...

Oban Festival of Architecture showcases Scottish innovation

2016-07-27T13:19:00-04:00

An exhibition of Scottish architecture held as part of a major festival in Italy is to be staged for the first time in Scotland. Prospect North, one of three architecture exhibitions being staged in Oban, was first shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale. It explores the stories of 15 Scots communities who have used design and architecture to make a difference.

Read more articles on Scottish projects and featured firms:

Provocative architecture debating series Turncoats goes international

2016-07-13T11:46:00-04:00

Debates are rubbish. We've all been there: a panel of similar people with similar views taking it in turns to talk at length about their similar work - too polite, too deferential, too dull. At best they are lukewarm love-ins, critically impotent, elitist and stuffy. Turncoats is a shot in the arm.

Turncoats, a provocative architectural debating society that originated in London last year, has expanded to Scotland, the USA, Canada and Serbia, with more cities in the pipeline. The London originators have turned the premise into a franchise, inviting cities to apply for free and start a Turncoats debate series. The aim is to start confrontational and challenging architectural debate, and make it free for anyone who wants to listen. The premise of a Turncoats debate is the presentation of two opposing 'theatrically provocative opening gambits', then, in the spirit of its name the opposing parties switch sides.

I attended 'Rip it Up and Start Again', held in Glasgow, Scotland last week. In the Turncoats tradition, mobile phones are placed in envelopes to prohibit recording and a 'shot in the dark' of tequila and a Turncoats badge is offered on arrival. The debate was held in an old glue factory, and the panel consisted of industry professionals arguing for and against the architec...

HLM and Tectonics Architects win UK Passivhaus awards

2016-07-12T13:30:00-04:00

Congratulations to triumphant Tigh na Croit by HLM Architects & Lansdowne Drive by Tectonics Architects who were crowned the 2016 UK Passivhaus Awards winners. The Winners were announced at a ceremony held in London on the 7th July, attended by approximately 80 delegates.The winners were decided by PHT members and Award Ceremony delegates.

HLM have won the Rural category of this year's UK Passivhaus Awards. The house, which aimed to create a low-energy, modern solution for the 'outdoorsy' clients, has been designed to reflect its Scottish Highland context.

Tectonics Architects gained the award for the Urban category, with their fantastic project in Hackney.

Plans unveiled to save Aberdeen home of Mitsubishi founder

2016-07-08T09:50:00-04:00

A top businessman has offered to help restore the home of [Thomas Blake Glover] a Scottish pioneer who became one of the most famous merchants in Japan [...] If anything can be done to restore Glover House we will be prepared to do it and we have made an offer to contribute to the house reopening in his memory [...] the building would be turned into an “ideas hub”, which could be used to strengthen business links with Japan - with a particular focus on the oil and gas industry.

The home of Thomas Blake Glover in Japan gets 2 million (!) visitors a year and is an important heritage site, representative for the scottish-japanese history of industrialisation.The Glover's house in Aberdeen is in a reversed situation. It has fallen into a state of disrepair and is in desperate need of restoration. Now, the Founder of the Thomas Blake Glover Foundation, Anne Malcolm, welcomed the proposed renovation work. She said: “It is very important that the Glover House should be kept for posterity as it’s very important historically."

There have been no serious historical dramatisations of Glover’s remarkable life and role in the Japanese history. Glover, equipped with enthusiasm for his modernising energy, had the willingness to act and negotiate in unfamiliar and dangerous surroundings in late 19th century Japan. The preservation project in Aberdeen aims to keep a architectural record of this famous Scot.

More informations Thomas Blake Glover offer an essay and a documenta...

Collective Architecture opening new Edinburgh office

2016-06-09T07:55:00-04:00

Collective Architecture is branching out east with the official opening of a new Edinburgh office, necessitated by a growing portfolio of work across the UK stretching from the east coast to the north of England and London. Director Jude Barber said ‘We are delighted that Collective Architecture continues to evolve and grow with our new studio in Edinburgh.”

Archinect's correspondent Robert Urquhart met with Collective Architecture earlier this year in Glasgow. Uniquly run as an employee-owned trust which so far no one has ever left; the firm already has an impressive body of work and has now been selected as one of three architects for the City of Edinburgh Council Framework. Read Robert's full interview here

Edinburgh’s controversial £1b “Garden District” will move forward

2016-06-07T05:14:00-04:00

The scheme was designed by EMA Architecture + Design, a local practice specialising in commercial mixed-use masterplans and residential development. The first phase will be followed by subsequent ones over 20 years, resulting in a £1bn ($1.4bn) “Garden District”. As well as the homes, there will be a school, shopping centre, sports facilities and parks. A quarter of all the homes will be affordable housing, with the remainder split between private homes and apartments.

Related on Archinect:

Better than ever: Mackintosh Building will reopen in 2018 along with campus expansion

2016-04-22T12:55:00-04:00

Two years ago, a disastrous fire broke out in the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Building, the jewel of the Glasgow School of Art’s campus. Now, after sifting through the damage, outlining a careful restoration plan and finding the funds, the Glasgow School of Art has announced that the building will not only be back in operation for the 2018 - 2019 academic year, but will also be part of a campus expansion plan that includes upgrading the Mac’s east wing, and adding a former Stow College building for studio/workshop space.

Just as it was before the fire, when it reopens The Mac will be at the center of the campus circulation, and serve as the home-base for first year students. The new Stow College site will be refurbished by BDP beginning this summer, with plans for the School of Fine Arts to move in the fall of 2017.

Page\Park, the architects appointed to restore the Mac and expand its east wing, started work in March 2015. Total costs are rounding out to £51m (about two-thirds for the r...

Shortlist for Mackintosh Building restoration contractors announced (plus, cool renderings of the fire damage!)

2016-03-17T13:53:00-04:00

Restoring the fire-damaged Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art isn't just about sourcing the appropriate physical materials, but introducing a spirit of rejuvenation to the younger set, too.

“We want to make sure that the restoration of The Mackintosh Building can deliver increased
levels of traditional skills training in Glasgow and the surrounding area,” Liz Davidson, Senior Project Manager, Mackintosh Restoration said in a press release. “We will expect our Main Contractor to commit to an extensive programme of recruiting and training new apprentices which will both support the local economy in Glasgow and ensure that the skills required to restore historic buildings such as the Mack do not die out.”

The winner of the shortlist of contractors, which includes Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd, BAM Construction Ltd, John Graham Construction Ltd, Kier Construction and Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd., will be tasked with restoring one of architecture's most treasured spaces. T...

Celebrated Scottish architect Gareth Hoskins dies at 48 from heart attack

2016-01-12T02:32:00-05:00

Everyone at Hoskins Architects has lost an exceptional architect, a visionary and a gifted leader, but above all a very good friend. Gareth leaves a huge gap, he was such a special person. We appreciate the very many messages of condolence that have already been received."

According to a statement issued by Spreng & Co PR, Gareth Hoskins of Hoskins Architects died in hospital on Saturday, January 9 after suffering a heart attack. A private funeral and memorial service for family will take place at a later date.

A few of Hoskins achievements and accolades, as delineated by bbc.com:

He set up Hoskins Architects in Glasgow in 1998 and won UK Architect of the Year in 2006 and Scottish Architect of the Year in 2009.

High profile work included the National Museum of Scotland, Scottish National Gallery and World Museum in Vienna. [...]

Mr Hoskins was an advisor to the Royal Institute of British Architects and a design panel member of the Scottish government's body, Architecture and Design Scotland.

Between 2006 and 2010, he was the Scottish government's National Healthcare Design Champion.

Edinburgh's own officials are mucking up the city's historic architecture, says former Daily Mail editor

2015-11-13T04:02:00-05:00

The effect is a curious one, as if a voluptuous society beauty has opened her mouth to smile at you, only to reveal a thin row of rotting teeth. [...] Depressingly, the numpties and panjandrums who sit on Edinburgh city council have squandered the opportunity to heal the wounds of the past. [...] What is it with this city, whose custodians, over centuries, seem to be ashamed of having so much natural beauty bestowed upon it and constantly seek ways to diminish it?