On 19 February, we'll hear about the history of Glasgow's Kingston Bridge: THE HIGHWAY OVER THE CLYDE Stewart Baird (Scottish Roads Archive) will talk in EDINBURGH AND ONLINE, showing historic and rare photographs. tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland #architecturetalk #glasgow #edinburgh

Save the date 26 April 2026: ‘Fern Fever on the Fells’. I’ll be giving a Sunday afternoon talk at the lovely Higham Hall, Bassenthwaite, followed by tea & cake. It will tell the story of the Victorian fern craze in the Lake District. Booking details to follow.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-deep-his... If you happen to be in Edinburgh on 5th Feb, there’s a free talk. Also note venue change - now to be held in the old Royal Infirmary’s new event space.

In two months, I'll be running a half marathon in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, in case anyone wants to chip in to a good cause: www.justgiving.com/page/alborz-...

How's your Christmas shopping going? Hopefully not as bad as this.

Sad to see the old Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary at Nithbank in a ruinous state. Prompted a short post on this and the 1970s infirmary. https://historic-hospitals.com/2025/12/13/dumfries-and-galloway-royal-infirmary/

this is such a good building! Oxford Street would be much poorer for its absence c.org/bfP6b6zGHt

THIS THURSDAY, 30 October, Bruce Peter talks about "Art Deco and the Modern Movement in Scotland" Join us ONLINE AND IN EDINBURGH for a fascinating history talk. Bruce is professor at Glasgow School of Art. His new book Modernist Scotland will be out soon. tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland

Bumper crop of apples this year, for us and the rest of Europe, probably. Picked as many as we could before storm Amy arrived to give a helping hand.

Please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/al...

I just signed the open letter & joined the campaign. Access to the written archives was vital to the book I’m completing about BBC Broadcasting House.

Cat on a hot concrete step #caturday

A long piece about 'Chain Stores' by Christopher Catling for the new edition of Current Archaeology - if you fancy a read! the-past.com/feature/cath...

Just out, a round-up of news and progress on historic-hospitals in the latest post. An unidentified chapel, a Humphreys iron hospital in Uppingham, a new book on hospitals in the Scottish Highlands, and a wander round Lincoln County Hospital. historic-hospitals.com/2025/08/10/j...

Beautifully written obituary, and a marvellous portrait by Chris Redgrave.

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

Mystery Chapel: Does anyone recognise this chapel? It is most likely in the South East of England, might be a hospital or institutional chapel, and was photographed in the 1950s. The photographer was a TB patient around this time, from St Paul's Cray and latterly at Eversfield Hospital, Hastings.

💥The Bernat Klein Studio has been saved! This morning the coalition of Scottish heritage organisations secured the property at auction with a winning bid of £279,000. The studio will now be restored and brought back into public use, creating a new venue for creative arts in the Scottish Borders.

Auction day. My fingers are firmly crossed.

Alan Reiach and Stuart Renton’s church, completed in 1962. I’ve been to this one, it’s stupendous

Applications are open to become the new Graduate Trainee at HES - after seeing how much fun our most recent trainee had I’m quite jealous! Please share widely: ekov.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

This is exciting and very welcome news!

Support Scottish heritage organisations to buy Bernat Klein Studio, near Galashiels www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/7nPrRvgl The late-Modernist building of 1972, designed by architect Peter Womersley, is to be auctioned on 30 July. Listed and vacant, this architectural marvel needs urgent saving!

The Bloomsbury Global Encylopedia of Women in Architecture 1960-2020 is now online! A huge achievement by Karen Burns & Lori Brown. Pleased to have had the chance to write some of the entries. preview31.sspbloomsbury.co.uk/bloomsbury-g...

Less than three weeks until our 20th-century architecture tour of Aberdeen City on Saturday, 02 August The day will include a former swimming pool, university buildings, residential tower blocks and more. The morning is on foot and the afternoon by minibus TicketTailor.com/events/DocomomoScotland

A recent week's holiday on Orkney included a tour of the surviving historic hospitals in Kirkwall. https://historic-hospitals.com/2025/07/06/orkney-revisited/

Join us for a tour of #Aberdeen on 02 August to explore the city's rich architectural heritage of the mid- to late 20th century. The guided tour will include mass housing, the Bon Accord Baths, Gray's School of Art and more. 11am-5pm on foot and by minibus TicketTailor.com/events/docomomoscotland

Gearing up for #NationalSeasideDay tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be great beach weather so lets fill @bsky.app with the #blueskies of our #GreatBritishSeaside resorts. Your pics wanted please!

The comet stone, Ness of Brodgar, Orkney. Unlike the nearby Ring of Brodgar, here we were not swamped by the coach parties, and were able to get up close to the stone. Snapped on 17 June early afternoon. #StandingStoneSunday

Former Stromness Soda Fountain, coffee saloon and ice-cream parlour, Victoria Street. 'Ice cream sold ... in any quantities, large or small. Made by an electric machine of new design.' Now the most fabulous shop selling woolly things and more. #shopfronts #Orkney #Stromness

'Caution Unstable Cliff' Just back from a week on Orkney. Here a view of Churchill Barrier number one, from Lamb Holm (taken from outside the Italian Chapel).

Fish on Friday! Here's some light weekend reading - a new blog post on the shops of Mac Fisheries (not sure how many of you will remember them!) tinyurl.com/33zxm9zb

Stopped in my tracks by this sad sight in #Southampton yesterday. The ongoing demolition of the once great Edwin Jones store (Healing & Overbury 1959) renamed #Debenhams in 1973.

Arrived today! Looking very smart, lots of great photos, and I know it will be an excellent read. Congratulation to @kathrynmorrison.bsky.social

Trip out to Rosslyn Chapel, already heaving on wild and windy Monday morning. Took advantage of the quiet outside while the talk was in progress inside. Very different experience from my first visit in the mid-1980s.

Join Andrew for a walking tour of Livingston new town and its splendid public art this Saturday (June 7th) - the sun is sure to shine! 😎

Fascinating article on Gavin Stamp by Joshua Mardell in British Art Studies: main--britishartstudies-26.netlify.app/issues/26/ga...

A reminder that this is happening next Saturday 7 June. Public art everywhere from civic showpieces, social housing and concrete poetry in infrastructure, to supermarket car parks and drains - “something for everyone!” ;-)

Shortly heading off to give a talk at the City Art Centre about Free Kindergartens, nature and play - part of a series to accompany the very good exhibition “Nurture through Nature” at Museum of Edinburgh.

My book is finally published! Percy Thomas: Modern Architecture as a National Service. www.uwp.co.uk/book/percy-t...

This week on Substack, @benaustwick.bsky.social has written a great post outlining the social ideals and architectural forms of the Amsterdam School: municipaldreams.substack.com/p/the-amster...

Join us on 21 June for a guided walk in Edinburgh from King's Buildings to Cameron Toll with a few other stops on the way. The walk will include various 20th-century buildings, ranging from private houses to commercial, educational and healthcare facilities. tickettailor.com/events/docomomoscotland

Woo hoo! Looking forward to my copy landing on the doormat any day now.👇

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...

Latest blog post. A roundup of May News from Historic Hospitals, on Margate, Letchworth and Guy Dawber in Cockermouth. https://historic-hospitals.com/2025/05/24/may-news/

Yet more from #Margate - and also for #IronworkThursday Rusting railings at the old winter gardens, along Fort Promenade.

🚨 New on Substack, 'This new world foreshadowed' - my post on the radical ideals and proposals of the 1943 County of London Plan, 1943: municipaldreams.substack.com/p/the-county...

More from Margate. Arlington House, the only really tall building in the town, with appropriately wavy frontages. Russell Diplock Associates, architects, completed 1963. #Margate