Re-direct

These pages are now out-of-date. DavidGardiner.co.uk has continued to exist at and can be found here, with all the previous posts intact.

Renfrewshire flags

Raising the profile of local flags in Scotland, part II: Renfrewshire.

This is, or rather would be, the heraldic banner of Renfrewshire. Like all banners, it is simply one way of displaying a coat of arms, much as in the case of the flag of Angus previously mentioned here. As with all armorial bearings, these banners must be possessed by a defined legal person - the new City of Inverness was refused an application for arms as it had no city council to grant them to - as such the banner was first granted to the Renfrewshire County Council, and is now the property of Renfrewshire Council, perhaps more properly Mid-Renfrewshire Council as its jurisdiction extents only over one of three parts of the county. Of the other two modern council areas, Inverclyde has gained arms (and, thus, a theoretical banner) whilst East Renfrewshire manages to survive (somehow) without.

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Glasgow School of Art

Design for the new building opposite Charles Rennie Mackintosh's world-famous School of Art building in Glasgow by Stephen Holl architects.

The new building, chosen in a design competition, will be largely matte glass with clear glass sections set back behind a raised garden area. The overarching concept is to create a "complementary contrast" to the Mackintosh building, recently voted the UK's favourite building and one of the key pieces of modernist architecture in Great Britain.

The site is currently occupied by a hotchpotch of different buildings, mostly modern, including a large 1970s tower. Most are run-down and have no connecting theme. One older building, the 1930s building on the far corner in the image above, known as The Vic and housing the art school's students' union, will be retained and incorporated into the project.

I have to admit to being initially disappointed with the bland functionality of the design. My concerns were eased somewhat by Mr Holl's letter to the Architectural Record which spoke of the relationship between his building and the Mackintosh building:

"It would not be possible to replicate that building’s intricacy, and it would be a travesty to imitate it. The rich detail of the original will dominate the new urban space without interference from the silent contrast of the new neighbour."

Although it seems perverse to form a brief around inoffensiveness (or, less kindly, mediocrity) it may be what the site calls for. Using fairly bland buildings to reflect the greatness of other, more important works has been used architecturally since time immemorial. Whether it will work in this instance will be judged by the passage of time.

Paternoster Square

As it could have been.

Design proposal by John Simpson & Partners, early 1990s.

The Last Gallows in Kilmacolm

The tale of the last gallows in the village of Kilmacolm, relayed to Mr Alexander Gibb who committed it to text in his 1872 work Much About Kilmacolm, demonstrates that local story-telling has not improved much in the intervening 140 years. It also gives these pages a rare opportunity to delve into the Scots tongue, which is always entertaining.

Our intelligent informant, to whom we were directed as to one “who kent a' aboot the auld times,” related a story to us of the end of the gallows that had long stood on this eminence [a hill, in the lands of Finlaystone], which we cannot do better than give in the vernacular:

“It is a strange thing how mickle power the lairds had in auld warld times: they had the power, it seems, o' hangin' fouk at their will. Ye see yon tree up o' the hill side ?”

“Ay.”

“Weel, yon's the Gallowhill, where the gallows stood, when the lairds had the power o' life and death. Aweel, there was a man that bade in a house ower by yonner, that was ta'en doun nae lang sin'; and he wanted wud for to mak' a jeest for the roof o' his house.

Sae he gaes down by to the house, an' askit to see his Lordship, to ask him for the wood, for there was plenty o' trees round about then mair than there is noo. He sees his Lordship, an' tells his errand; but his Lordship didna want tae gie him nae wood, so says he, 'Ye'll get nae wood, ye'll get the gallows,' meaning to gie him a fricht.

But he was a kin' o' half-witted body, and what does he but tak' up the Earl in earnest, an' gae up neist nicht, an' taks down the gallows, and pits it into his house as a joist. That was the hin'most ane that stood there; for it was never set up again.”

Terrific.

Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011!

I will be returning home from Edinburgh to Renfrewshire tomorrow before heading down to Surrey for Christmas itself. Very excited indeed - although I would appreciate some decent plans for Hogmanay.

As you can see, I've found a photograph of Edinburgh that's not covered in snow. Incredible really.

Developments at Paisley Abbey

It is rare for your humble correspondent to take an entirely critical line on a development, but he is finding it very difficult indeed to resist cursing the current proposals for the empty site opposite Paisley Abbey, in the heart of Renfrewshire's largest town.

The path has recently been cleared for the building of 137 new 'homes' by the demolition of one wing of Renfrewshire House, a drab 1960s block of concrete which contained offices for the local authority. The people responsible for the design are the Glasgow-based Westpoint Homes.

The above photograph gives an approximate idea of the view, at street level, from the site. To the left is the Abbey, the centre of Christianity across Renfrewshire since the 14th century; on the right is the Victorian splendour of Paisley Town Hall, which sits on the banks of the River Cart and is surrounded by public spaces at the bottom end of the town's High Street. The area is, in short, important.

The clearing of the council offices presented a unique opportunity to create something spectacular amongst the monumental buildings of the county: its modern civic heart. Instead, mediocrity appears to have been accepted. This is something of a theme for Paisley's recent additions to the built environment: there are few, if any, modern buildings in the town which have added anything to its charm, and a great many which have each had their individual parts to play in destroying it.

It is the lack of ambition, appreciation for the site or vision which marks Westpoint's development out for criticism rather than the run-of-the-mill, jerry-built flats they intend to build. An opportunity to contribute to the town's regeneration has been squandered. Whilst many in Renfrewshire are happy to dismiss Paisley as an inconvenient obstacle to circumnavigate on the way to Glasgow, it has the potential to be one of Scotland's more impressive settlements and provide the county with its own commercial centre. Instead Renfrewshire's civic society seem determined to let it continue in its long-term decline.

The planning documents referred to are available on the Renfrewshire Council website.

V&A at Dundee update

Following hastily in the tracks of my last post, Kengo Kuma & Associates have been chosen as the architects to design the new V&A at Dundee building.

It is worth noting that the designs are not finalised, and indeed the budget has not yet been fully set. Whilst acknowledging that the REX design - which had precedence in my previous post on the subject - was the most popular, the jury unanimously swung towards the Kuma design for its recognition of the importance of the site and the city's heritage. The panel also made clear that none of the designs were rejected on cost grounds.

The V&A building will include a public area beside the RRS Discovery, with a further new building to the east replacing the current Olympia swimming pool.

Construction work is due to begin in 2012, with the museum opening to the public - with free entry - in 2014.

The V&A Comes to Dundee

Dundee is soon to be home to what may become one of the most iconic Scottish public buildings in recent times. London's Victoria & Albert Museum is to open a branch in the city and intends to create a “landmark building” to “dominate Dundee’s waterfront.” This proposal will form a key part of Dundee's waterfront regeneration, the area having been largely demolished and separated from the city in the 1960s and 70s by the construction of a road network leading to the Tay Road Bridge.

A shortlist of architects have been selected and their current designs are on display within the University of Abertay. The image at the top is the proposal put forward by New York-based REX architects, below is the design from the Japanese firm Kengo Kuma & Associates. More details and the four other designs are available on the V&A Dundee website.

The building has attracted a great deal of interest internationally, and of the six shortlisted architectures only Edinburgh-based Sutherland Hussey are UK-based. Their proposal also seems to be the least popular of the choices when presented to the general public. Whilst many are good designs, it appears that the project's budget falls somewhat short of what may required to produce a building of such stature.

Meanwhile, the Dundonians are excited. Comparisons to Bilbao are never far from anyone's lips: where the city's branch of the Guggenheim Museum- the iconic 1997 building pictured above by Frank Gehry (mentioned previously on these pages)- contributed enormously to the economic, social and cultural standing of the entire Basque region. Since this point, the "Bilbao effect" has become something of a holy grail amongst architects, in spite of Gehry himself calling the entire concept "a bunch of bullshit". Gehry was also quick to rule himself out of the competition, despite having worked in Dundee before - designing the Maggie's cancer care centre at Ninewells Hospital.

Regardless, there has been little dampening of spirits and the project has inspired a great deal of public interest in Dundee and Scotland as a whole. It seems that whatever is built is planned to be a centrepiece for the utterly fantastic waterfront regeneration and, no matter what it is housed in, the V&A will be a cultural triumph for the marginalised city.

I will leave you all with this delightful piece from an anonymous writer on the V&A's forums, in the style of that great poet of the area, William Topaz McGonagall:

Thy structure to my eye seems strong and grand,

And the workmanship most skilfully planned;

And I hope the designers, Messrs Kengo Kuma, will prosper for many a day

For erecting thee across the beautiful Tay.

And I think nobody need have the least dismay

To visit thee by night or by day,

Because thy strength is visible to be seen

Near by Dundee and the bonnie Magdalen Green.

Beautiful new museum of the Silvery Tay,

I wish you success for many a year and a day,

And I hope thousands of people will come from far away,

Both high and low without delay,

From the North, South, East and West,

Because as a museum thou art the best;

Thou standest unequalled to be seen

Near by Dundee and bonnie Magdalen Green.

Trafalgar Day

Another happy Trafalgar Day. In Edinburgh today the White Ensign, flag of the Royal Navy, was hoisted over Nelson's Monument on Calton Hill, along with the famous signal flags spelling out 'England expects every man to do his duty'. The signal colours were also raised in the city outside the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Club in Broughton.

The familiar poppy has also taken up its annual occupancy in the title bar, which has undergone something of a revamp on a trial basis. Here is a link to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal website.

Previously: Trafalgar Day 2008; the White Ensign

Silence sometimes the best answer

Whenever a town or city is condemned in a tourist guide - or given even qualified praise - there always seems to be some local government employee on hand to transparently attack the writers. Glasgow, who I would have assumed may know better, are apparently no different. Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow Marketing Bureau, comments:

"The Barras doesn't sell rubbish"

Um... let's move on shall we...

"Easterhouse clearly isn't a slum"

Capping it all off, Mr Taylor finally observes "Glasgow has some difficulties...", a fact known to most, "...but you wouldn't expect to read about them in a tourist guide". Oh, really? Splendid.

Of course, the guide in question is far from entirely critical of Glasgow. It praises, quite properly, the cultural background, vibrancy and amenities of the city. For someone in the marketing "industry", one would expect Mr Taylor to know when launching an ill-considered defence of the indefensible will look ridiculous.

Previously: A Toast to Glasgow