Matt Loader from Glasgow-based architecture firm, Loader Monteith in Dezeen magazine talking about Glasgow’s old buildings and their tendency to catch fire: Glasgow’s burning problem is a symptom of a greater failure
These fires are … the consequences of a system that lacks the teeth to protect buildings before fire, decay or neglect take their toll.
[It] is not misfortune, it is the absence of meaningful accountability for owners who allow listed buildings to remain unoccupied and deteriorate. It’s the absence of adequate policy that compels action before catastrophe strikes.
The entire article is worth a read, and I can find very little to disagree with. He mentions the failings of local Government and their lack of a plan for the city as a whole, which definitely rings true to me.
We don’t have a cohesive vision of what Glasgow is. Without a clear direction, much of our built heritage has fallen into ownership of absent organisations and individuals, often without the skills, awareness of their perilous condition, or funds to renew them.
The Golden Z project is mentioned, scathingly. A project for three streets in the city. Not mentioned is the Avenues project. In fairness, this has made parts of the city easier to navigate by bicycle, but those bits are islands to and from which cyclists must navigate through the ever-present motorised traffic. And to what end? To which of the many closing pubs and restuarants are these people headed?
If ever you wanted to understand how Glasgow treats its buildings and legacy architecture, you only need to read about The Egyptian Halls, a building which has been listed since 2019 as one of the most endangered buildings in Europe.