Short courses

Summary

Glasgow is a city of contrasts, and this is expressed clearly in the architecture from the 19th through to the 21st century. Fluctuating fortunes, and changing tastes, have shaped the buildings and streetscapes of the city, and left us with a patchwork of styles and materials. This course examines the architects who created the buildings, and the social and cultural forces that influenced their individual approaches to design and construction. Architects such as Alexander Thomson and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as well as David Hamilton, John James Burnett, Edith Burnet Hughes, the firm of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia, and Zaha Hadid will be covered. 

This course aims to:  

• Extend and develop students’ basic knowledge of Glasgow architecture through the focussed analysis of 10 buildings from the 19th to the 21st century.  

• Develop students’ critical awareness of the architects and architecture in Glasgow during the period by identifying the wide variety of stylistic and cultural components, placing them within the broader context.  

• Introduce students to some of the issues of methodology, historiography and context which are associated with this area of study. 

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to: 

• Identify the key architects and architectural movements and evaluate the historical, stylistic and cultural components of buildings discussed and the key debates surrounding them. 

• Critically analyse and interpret the buildings covered in the course in terms of their function, methods of construction and stylistic and cultural components.