Lunchtime perambulation around the University of Glasgow. The (former) Modern Languages building (now Law?), by Walter Ramsay, 1958-59, showing the often gentle modernism of the 1950s. Perhaps now overshadowed by the brutalism of the adjacent Queen Margaret Union, but I'm quite partial to it.

My colleague @milesglendinning.bsky.social is the latest recruit to Bluesky. Follow him for insights on the architectural history and heritage of global mass housing

Stir-up Sunday. 7 hours down, 1 hour to go. (This is the pudding; the Christmas cake and mincemeat were made in September and are maturing in the cupboard.)

Excellent news for the end of the week as @thesahgb.bsky.social recognises the monumental efforts of the Buildings of England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland team over several decades.

Disappointing news about the non-listing of the Brunton Theatre, despite it being deemed list-able by HES. A replacement building will cost £50m+, replacing the roof was estimated at £22m... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Alistair: let's de-centre the architect in architectural-historical writing. Meanwhile Duolingo:

Archive-based teaching this afternoon, on the post-war reconstruction of central Coventry.

End of week reading. @samwetherell.bsky.social's excellent new urban history of post-war Liverpool.

Yesterday - teaching @edincollegeofart.bsky.social Architectural History students in the archive. Drawings of Coventry Cathedral from the Basil Spence archive, as well as many other items that showed the collaborative process by which the cathedral was designed and built.

First day of the new academic year @edincollegeofart.bsky.social. This semester's teaching includes my course on architecture in Britain 1919-56.

New towns stuff! It was very good to talk to @charlielynch.bsky.social for this feature. The book is still available - in print but also as an open access (free!) e-book at www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...

Recently @vawright10.bsky.social and I were interviewed for a podcast about the Scottish new towns book which we recently co-wrote (and which is available Open Access for free download via bloomsburycollections, though you can also buy a copy in print if you wish!)

Northampton Guildhall extension - 1991 by Stimpson Walton Bond. Contextual Gothic to echo the adjacent Victorian Gothic.

Malcolm Inglis building, Northampton (1900). Built for a leather and hide factor. A piece of Glasgow especially in the carving above the entrance, where we have St Mungo and the two salmon from the city's coat of arms.

Important message from today's Duolingo session

Working on Northampton new town. Today's discovery is that a promotional record about the town was issued as a single in 1980. It had a version of the song with lyrics about aliens on the A-side with the promotional version, '60 Miles by Road or Rail', on the B-side. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7ZQ...

Former Debenhams/Bon Marché store, Gloucester: the early 1960s part of the building very like the Festival Hall's original 1951 elevations, especially the small windows to the left which echo those which originally illuminated the RFH's side fire escape stairs.

A morning of course admin and intranet stuff for next semester. Luna has appeared to offer moral support.

Changed trains at Birmingham New St y/day. This is part of the station's Navigation Street entrance and footbridge, built in the early 1990s and now looking a little grubby. I do like this era of railway architecture.

Sad news overnight of serious damage by fire to St Mungo's church, Cumbernauld - designed by Alan Reiach 1963-64. Its dedication echoed Glasgow cathedral & recognised the Glaswegian roots of many early residents in the new town, which had been begun a few years before

Excellent news that the Bernat Klein studio has been bought by a coalition of heritage groups. The hard work starts here. Photo by me in 2016.

I do like the 1980s/90s tradition of having commissioned murals on the end panels of train carriages. These are by Michael Healey.

Today has been office moving day...for the last 10 years I've been fortunate to have a very large, bright university office (pictured here in Dec 2019) but as I WFH a lot these days and there is pressure on space I've moved (willingly) to a much smaller room. A good excuse for a clear out.

Al fresco working this afternoon: new towns stuff. Feline supervisor ensuring that I don't drop the pace.

Ghost sign, Birmingham. The former Gas showroom at Dale End.

I quite like the decoration on the low level platforms at Glasgow Queen Street, but there's nothing (as far as I can see) to say if this was an art commission, and if so who carried it out...

Busy day yesterday including a podcast recording for @edincollegeofart.bsky.social with @vawright10.bsky.social and later a talk and discussion with Prof Fiona McLachlan for @archifringe.bsky.social on 1950s/60s housing research and projects in Prestonpans, Edinburgh and Cumbernauld.

Doing a bit of tidying in my university office: this emerged out of a box. I'm struck by Kerry Downes' comment at the start of the 'useful reading' section. The seminar itself (just over 21 years ago now, eek!) was excellent and Kerry Downes kindly signed my copy of his seminal Hawksmoor book.

Perth Leisure Pool (FaulknerBrown, 1985-88) yesterday. Vaguely postmodern in style with some good textures and the promise of fun within. Proposed by @c20society.bsky.social for listing on a couple of occasions, but as yet not listed due to 'advanced proposals' for its replacement.

Looking forward to seeing this land on my doormat!

Historic signage from Network SouthEast (which hasn't existed for nearly 30 years now...)

Those within striking distance of RIBA's bookshop at 66 Portland Place, London, might like to know it's having a clearance sale (closing Saturday!) with 50% off and available titles including my own 'Modern Playhouses: an Architectural History of Britain's New Theatres, 1945-1985'...grab a bargain!

Also from Hertford, the former Green Dragon Hotel of c. 1903, with carved lettering advertising stables and a 'motor pit', presumably for the inevitable running repairs and maintenance needed in the early days of the car. #carscapes

A quick visit y/day to Hertfordshire Archives on the hunt for new towns stuff. Neo-Georgian late 1930s, part of the bigger civic complex by Rowland Pierce (who also designed Slough and Norwich town halls) and others. The list description is silent about the sculptor of the 1939 cricketing boy.

I'll be taking part, with Prof Fiona McLachlan, in an Archifringe event on 17/6 accompanying the 'Alternative Domesticities' exhibition by Callum Symmonds & Fredrik Frendin. We'll be talking 1960s housing. Booking link: architecturefringe.com/festivals/20.... One for @docomomoscot.bsky.social

We're currently looking for someone to join us in Architectural History at Edinburgh for the 2025-26 year (and a little bit after) to cover a colleague's research leave: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Quick trip y'day to The Story, the new Durham archives, to track down new towns images for a Forthcoming Thing. Much as I like the 60s vibe of the old County Hall, this new facility was impressive and the archivists very helpful. I also like the (1990s?) glass cube lights at the railway station...

The @c20society.bsky.social magazine goes from strength to strength. Perfect reading in the afternoon sunshine (with ice cream and fruit in a 1950s Moonglo bowl)

Lurking in my parents' garage, a vintage Lakeland carrier bag (from the days when it was still 'Lakeland Plastics', slogan 'The Creative Kitchenware Company'.). I like the very 1990s design/typeface.

From the masterplan for Corby new town, 1951, by William Holford's practice, a drawing showing how the original village had already grown significantly as a result of the Stewarts' and Lloyds' steelworks. New town designation was intended to regularise further growth and to add amenities.

Marking work on the patio. My domestic line manager is staying close by to ensure no slacking.

Big GG Scott and little GG Scott, Cambridge. (University Library, 1931-34, and K6 telephone kiosk, repurposed as a book drop, 1935)

Day off, so a trip tp the Hill House at Helensburgh to see how the 'Box' is doing, though of course what I really wanted to check on was whether the Mackintosh-inspired streetlights with the logo of the former Strathclyde Regional Council (abolished 1996) were still there.

Looking forward to getting into this new book this week by Joanna Smith and @matthewwhitfield.bsky.social. Perfect timing for some al fresco reading in the sun!

A run today in the voiture du bonheur to Crawick Multiverse, the 2015 reworking of a former open cast coal mine in Dumfries & Galloway by Charles Jencks.

Prepping for podcast recording on Scottish new town history. Discussion will start with 'my journey to the topic'. Here's a pull-out from my parents' newspaper, Oct '96, which age 14 I kept. I'm struck by the image: evokes garden city origins of new town idea, but not very 'new town' itself!

If you missed last month's book event for 'Building Modern Scotland' at RIAS, join the authors @edincollegeofart.bsky.social on Wed 2 April, 4.45-6.30pm, for a discussion of the Scottish new towns themed around some quirky objects. Sign up: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-m...

⚡ Power from the Glens – The Story of Scotland’s Hydroelectric Revolution! Join Dr Alistair Fair & Dr Harriet Richardson Blakeman as they explore the architecture & impact of these 20th-century marvels. 📅 Mon 14 April, 6:30pm 📍 Edinburgh & Online 💷 £6 (£2 students) 🎟️ buff.ly/zNApZ1D

to Crawley Museum to see the exhib of photo’s by Wolf Schusitzky of the New Town. Wonderful images & some great ephmera in the museum’s own display on the Town: an excuse to flag up my & @alistairfair.bsky.social article which relates to the theme: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

From the late 1960s, a Scottish 'O' Grade school textbook on the new towns (for Geography or Modern Studies, a subject that doesn't exist in England).