The city of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

is particularly noted for its 19th-century

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the st ...

, and the early-20th-century "Glasgow Style", as developed by

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macd ...

. Very little of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Glasgow remains, the two main landmarks from this period being the 15th-century

Provand's Lordship Provand's Lordship is a medieval-period in Scotland, medieval historic house museum in Glasgow, Scotland, located in the Townhead area at the top of Castle Street within sight of Glasgow Cathedral and next to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Li ...

and 12th-century St. Mungo's Cathedral. St. Mungo's Cathedral, also known as the High Kirk and Glasgow Cathedral, is the oldest building in Glasgow and is an example of Scottish Gothic architecture. The vast majority of the city as seen today dates from the 19th century. As a result, Glasgow has a heritage of Victorian architecture: the

Glasgow City Chambers The City Chambers or Municipal Buildings in Glasgow, Scotland, has functioned as the headquarters of Glasgow City Council since 1996, and of preceding forms of municipal government in the city since 1889. It is located on the eastern side of the ...

; the main building of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, designed by Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

; and the

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. The building is located in Kelvingrove Park in the West End of the city, adjacent to Argyle Street. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Mu ...

, designed by Sir John W. Simpson are examples.

Glasgow Style

The city is notable for architecture designed by

(1868–1928). Mackintosh was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

in the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

and the main exponent of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

in the United Kingdom, designing Glasgow buildings such as the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

Willow Tearooms The Willow Tearooms are tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, Scotland, designed by internationally renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which opened for business in October 1903. They quickly gained enormous popularity, and are ...

and the Scotland Street School. Also designed by Mackintosh is the Queen's Cross Church, the only church by the artist to be built.

Victorian era

Another architect who had an impact on the city's appearance was

Alexander Thomson Alexander "Greek" Thomson (9 April 1817 – 22 March 1875) was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was ...

(1817–1875). Thomson produced a style of architecture based on fundamentalist classicism that gave him the nickname "Greek". Examples of Thomson's work can be found over the city, with notable examples including the Holmwood House villa and St. Vincent Street Church. The buildings reflect the wealth and self-confidence of the residents of the "Second City of the Empire". Glasgow generated wealth from trade and the industries that developed from the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

. The Templeton's carpet factory on

Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History In ...

was designed to resemble the

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace (''Doge'' pronounced ; ; ) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and th ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and epitomises Glaswegians' desire to demonstrate architectural opulence during this era. TenementGlasgowSouthSide

Many of the city's buildings were built with red or blond

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, but during the industrial era those colours disappeared under a pervasive black layer of soot and pollutants from the

furnaces Furnace may refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace, or a heater or boiler, used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used to heat water; also called a furnace in American English when used for heating and hot wat ...

, until the Clean Air Act was introduced in 1956. In recent years many of these buildings have been cleaned and restored to their original appearance.

Ecclesiastical architecture

Many important

historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying the process or history by which they came about. The term is widely used in philosophy, ant ...

churches were built in Victorian Glasgow, including the St. Vincent Street Church and the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

Garnethill Synagogue.

Modern era

Modern buildings in Glasgow include the

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket ...

, and along the banks of the Clyde are the

Glasgow Science Centre Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located in the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II opened Glasgow Science Centre on 5 July 2001. It is one of Scotland's ...

and the

Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest Exhibition center, exhibit ...

, whose

Clyde Auditorium The SEC Armadillo (originally known as the Clyde Auditorium) is an auditorium located near the River Clyde, in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of three venues on the Scottish Event Campus, which includes the SEC Centre and the OVO Hydro. History ...

was designed by Sir Norman Foster, and is known as the "

Armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

won a competition to design the new

Riverside Museum The Riverside Museum (replacing the preceding Glasgow Museum of Transport) is a museum in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, housed in a building designed by Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid Architects, with its River Clyde frontage at the new Point ...

to house the Glasgow Museum of Transport Glasgow's historical and modern architectural traditions were celebrated in 1999 when the city was designated UK City of Architecture and Design, winning the accolade over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

.Glasgow City Council: Regeneration - into the new Millennium

Gallery

File:Bridge Street, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. India Buildings. 1876. 04.jpg, India Buildings, Bridge Street (1876), demolished in 2024 File:Bridge Street, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. India Buildings. 1876. 01.jpg, India Buildings (1876), alternative angle File:The Star Bar, 537-539 Eglinton Street, Glasgow, UK 02.jpg, The Star Bar corner "gushet" pub in the St Andrew's Cross area of the city

References

External links

Clyde Waterfront - Scotland’s Architectural Showcase
{{Glasgow Glasgow