Mark Chalmers

Each year, Mr Wolf goes on holiday with a bag full of books which he intends to read as he shivers and chitters on a windswept Hebridean beach. Many remain unread at the end of the holiday, but here are some highlights from the rear covers of their dustwraps:

Scotland’s Greatest Living Architect
In this rags-to-riches biography, the biggest name in Scottish architecture recounts how they rose from humble beginnings in Edinburgh’s upper-middle class to become Scotland’s Greatest Living Architect. We learn about many highs and lows along the way, including a disastrous entry to the Scottish Parliament competition, a dangerous feud with the paramilitary wing of the Scottish Ecological Design Association, and how they narrowly lost out on the Stirling Prize due to some dodgy shadow gap detailing. This book is moving, touching and gripping. I implore you to buy a copy today, and you too will discover that SGLA’s ghost writer did a great job.

Up in Flames: The Inside Story of Glasgow School of Art
This is a searingly honest and powerful account of how Glasgow School of Art burned down, twice. The second fire destroyed any hope of seeing the School of Art rebuilt within our lifetime, and it also destroyed the careers of everyone involved with the institution. The author, Bernie Matches, is an insider with access to everyone who used to matter at GSA, yet despite his personal bitterness and a burning desire to settle scores, he’s managed to write with obvious affection for the old place. The world described in Up in Flames is unlike anything you’ve ever read before, which make this book a real page-turner.

Middle Class Welfare: How to fix Scotland’s broken public sector
Written by the self-confessed portly traveller of Scottish architecture, Middle Class Welfare pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. It’s nothing less than a manifesto for fixing Scotland’s broken public sector, ripping into corrupt councillors, inept planners, feckless Building Control Officers and jaundiced policy wonks at Victoria Quay. As the blurb on the back cover (written by FatBOT’s cousin, Portion Control) claims, “From the opening sentence, I knew that Fat Bloke on Tour was a powerful new voice in Scottish architectural criticism. I loved his rawness and honesty, and the poetry of his coruscating prose.” Who could argue with that?

How to Write a Mission Statement
Practical tips from Gorgie Tony on how to write a blurb for the home page of your website. It offers a checklist of simplistic clichés to ensure you remain “on message” whilst avoiding howlers and pratfalls. Here are some pointers:
• Our award-winning studio specialises in delivering thoughtful/ responsive/ timeless/ well-crafted/ humane/ sustainable solutions for our clients. * - delete as applicable.
• No matter the brief, we bring rigorous integrity, impeccable detailing and good vibes to every project. 
• While we’re generalists, we have specialist expertise – and although we’re traditional, we’re also innovative.
• We’re intensely rooted in designing local architecture for local people, yet we’re also sophisticated cosmopolitans who work internationally.
• Our architecture shapes places, enriches people and uplifts the soul. We especially like the enrichment part.