A sneak peek at the lower reaches of our celebrated annual survey of the profession\'s power brokers.

20 Apr 2005

Last year Lord Fraser set the agenda, this year Architecture and Design Scotland could change the landscape. The completion of the Scottish Parliament building in October last year was by far the most significant moment for those involved in architecture and construction.

Despite all the negative press against the project the final verdict on the building was positive. “You can see where all the money went”, is a most common response from politicians and public. Holyrood must rank as one of the most problematic and fraught building projects in the history of modern society. The recent screening of the documentary The Gathering Place has provided some interesting insights into the sources of its difficulty, not least an inexperienced client. Despite having an architecture policy and a policy unit, politicians in the new Scottish Parliament had little grasp of what was involved in procuring a world class building.

In 2005 the Scottish Executive has embarked on another project to establish a body that will raise the quality of the built environment in Scotland. The launch of Architecture and Design Scotland marks a significant moment for architecture in Scotland. As the new body’s chairman, Raymond Young will shape the climate in which architects operate. Young has a background in sustainable design, so this is likely to be at the top of ADS’s campaigning agenda.


76. Malcolm Fraser
Deputy Chair, Architecture and Design Scotland
Depute chair of Architecture and Design Scotland, Malcolm Fraser is certainly passionate about architecture and regularly takes the time to voice his strong views in the press, often courting controversy. He is also an engaging speaker. His practice is currently involved in the design of Dance City, in Newcastle, which will be complete later this year.

77. Professor Brian Evans
Deputy Chair, Architecture and Design Scotland
Brian Evans is a partner in urban and landscape design practice Gillespies. From 1998 until 2004, he was artistic professor of urban design at Chalmers University School of Architecture, Gothenburg, Sweden. He is also a member of the Enabling Panel of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, in England.

78. Gordon Murray
President, RIAS
Gordon hands over the reins as RIAS president to Doug Read next month. He has been one of the RIAS most dynamic presidents in recent years, providing the organisation with a figurehead that can speak passionately and authoritatively about architecture, as well as making things happen.

79. Stuart McDonald
Director, The Lighthouse
Stuart is a key figure in Scottish architecture and one of its chief proponents, and has a PhD from the School of Architecture, University of Liverpool. He is also president of the Reseau European Art Nouveau Network, and vice-chair of the worldwide Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society. The Lighthouse sees architecture and design as cultural, educational, social and economic concerns that affect the whole community.

80. Sir Terry Farrell
Design Champion for Edinburgh
“What use is a design guru?” The jury is still out among architects as to the usefulness of a city design tsar. Sir Terry Farrell provides his services on a voluntary basis, and his concern and interest in the city is naturally moderated by the fact that he is based in London. Farrell has said he sees his job as stimulating debate, and that it would be wrong to view his role as a substitute for a city architect. He was caught up in a conflict of interest dispute at the end of last year when he won the commission to extend the EICC, for which he was the original architect.

81. Steven Spier
Head of Architecture, University of Strathclyde
Professor Steven Spier’s research falls into two areas: contemporary continental architecture, particularly Swiss; and the issues of space, collaboration and innovation in the work of William Forsythe, one of the world’s leading choreographers. He is also an advisory member to Architecture and Design Scotland.

82. David Porter
Head of School Mackintosh School of Architecture
The Mackintosh School’s head of architecture since 2000, David Porter’s impressive track record includes teaching at the Architectural Association and the Bartlett. His arrival at the Mac has seen more emphasis put on the teaching of sustainability issues, with the aim of making this more generally evident in students’ work.

83. Brian Edwards
Professor of Architecture, Edinburgh College of Art
Professor at the Edinburgh College of Art since 2001, Brian Edwards is also an author of numerous books on sustainability and advises the RIBA sustainable futures committee as well as speaking at conferences.

84. Jonathan Woolf
Professor of Architecture, Scott Sutherland School
Formerly London-based, architect Jonathan Woolf became professor of architecture at the Scott Sutherland School, Robert Gordon University, last year. He has previously taught at the University of Bath and the Architectural Association in London. His practice is best known for Brick Leaf House, in Hampstead.

85. Fiona McLachlan
Head of School, Edinburgh University School of Architecture
Fiona McLachlan has worked at the School of Architecture, University of Edinburgh, since 1989. She balances teaching, research and practice. Teaching centres on architectural design and professional studies and her research interests in modern European architecture, particularly in Austria and the Netherlands, accessible architecture and social housing. Her practice, E & F McLachlan Architects, has won a number of design competitions, including social housing in both suburban and city centre locations, and is currently working on a project for 30 dwellings in central Scotland.

86. Kathryn Findlay
Honorary Professor and Researcher, Duncan of Jordanstone School of Architecture
Kathryn Findlay’s practice, Ushida Findlay, may have gone into liquidation last year, but she has just been appointed to run a research programme at Duncan of Jordanstone, called FIELD. FIELD is a forum aimed at bringing all disciplines in the college, including architecture, interior and innovative product design, together. FIELD will undertake experimental and innovative architectural design and research, beginning with a CAD study of the Matthew Building that was built by the Baxter Clark & Paul Partnership in 1975. She also hopes to initiate a project to develop roof spaces on other buildings within the University campus.

87. Charles Jencks
Maggie’s Centres/Architecture critic
Charles Jencks has continued to commission renowned architects to design Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres all over Britain, with the Inverness centre by Page and Park Architects about to open its doors, and a major fundraising effort underway for a Richard Rogers centre in London. Jencks has also played a prominent role in discussion and debate about the Scottish Parliament building and also on iconic architecture, with the launch of his new book, Iconic Architecture: The Power of Enigma.

88. David Page
Partner, Page and Park
Page and Park seem to be embarking on a new style of architecture, with plans for a 15-storey tower on Clyde Street in Glasgow, and what could be described as an iconic design for the Maggie’s Centre in Inverness. Founder David Page is also a member of Sir Terry Farrell’s advisory panel for his role as Edinburgh’s design guru.

89. Rob Joiner
Director, Molendinar Park/ Reidvale Housing Associations
Another advisory member to Architecture and Design Scotland, Rob Joiner is director of Molendinar Park and Reidvale Housing Associations. He has been employed by Reidvale HA since 1977, and was appointed director in 1988. He has also been the Chairman of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust since 1988, and has lectured on architecture and housing at the University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow and Mackintosh School of Architecture. He was made an honorary fellow of the RIAS in 2003.

90. Karen Anderson
Principal, Anderson Bell Christie
Karen is one of the advisory members to the newly formed Architecture and Design Scotland, but this is just one of many roles that the dedicated principal of Anderson Bell Christie plays outwith her practice. She’s also convener of the Saltire Society housing design panel, a tutor at the University of Strathclyde, and a member of the Scottish Executive’s cross-party group on architecture.

91. Dick Cannon
Partner, Elder and Cannon Architects
Dick Cannon’s firm, Elder and Cannon, picked up Scotland’s top architecture award in 2004 for its Clavius Building at St Aloysius School. Judges of the £25,000 RIAS Award for Architecture, which sadly lost its founder and patron Andrew Doolan last year after his sudden death, described the Clavius Building as “big, tough, but full of humanity”.

92. Gareth Hoskins
Principal, Gareth Hoskins Architects
Young Architect of the Year in 2000, Gareth Hoskins has built on his early promise to become director of one of the best and busiest design-led practices in Scotland. Among the many projects the firm is working on at present is the £70million revamp of the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, and a children’s hospice at Loch Lomond. Hoskins is also on the advisory board of Architecture and Design Scotland.

93. Paul Stallan
Design Director, RMJM
Paul Stallan is responsible for the expanding RMJM Glasgow office, and has significant experience in urban design, riverside regeneration projects and complex inner city developments. He has taught design methodology at the University of Strathclyde and has been an invited critic and examiner at Dundee, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Glasgow Universities. He was awarded the Royal Scottish Academy Gold Medal for Architecture in 1999, and is also on the advisory board of Architecture and Design Scotland.

94. Neil Gillespie
Director, Reiach and Hall Architects
Neil was named Architect of the Year at last year’s Scottish Design Awards, and his practice also picked up the Architecture Grand Prix, for its Westport office development in Edinburgh. He is also a design adviser to City of Edinburgh Council.

95. Professor Howard Liddell
Principal, Gaia Architects
Green architect extraordinaire, Professor Liddell is currently the only architect in Scotland to gain an ‘A’ rating in the RIAS’s new accreditation scheme for sustainable building designers. He is an adviser to lawmakers, and has over 20 years’ experience in designing environmentally sound buildings.

96. Miles Glendinning
Author and historian, RCAHMS
Miles Glendinning’s latest book, The Last Icons, is stirring up hot debate about whether iconic architecture has had its day. He recently appeared on Newsnight putting forward his arguments against the shape-making architecture purveyed by the likes of Will Alsop and Frank Gehry. Previous books include Clone City and Tower Blocks.

97. Terry Levinthal
Director, Scottish Civic Trust
The Scottish Civic Trust is responsible for Doors Open Days, the hugely popular initiative that allows the public to get inside buildings that are normally out of bounds. The trust also encourages conservation and good-quality modern architecture.

98. Peter Wilson
Director, Manifesto Foundation for Architecture
A regular columnist in Prospect and provocative architectural commentator, Peter Wilson has been a fierce critic of the Holyrood project. His strong views on the building famously got him barred from a press trip round the Parliament on its completion. He formerly produced Scottish architecture journal Arca before it folded last year.

99. Janice Kirkpatrick
Co-founder and Director, Graven Images
Janice Kirkpatrick formed the now internationally acclaimed design consultancy Graven Images with architect Ross Hunter. Graven Images was recently appointed to design the interiors for the new BBC headquarters at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, and has begun to publish books on architecture in partnership with The Lighthouse. Janice is also a writer and broadcaster, and lectures and examines at several universities.

100. Isi Metzstein
This architect was author of one of the most important evaluations of the Scottish Parliament, which he described as “too rich” in the pages of Prospect. Metzstein teaches and is an active member of the RSA. He avoids the new politically-driven architectural bodies. Thanks to his intellect and his network of ex-pupils and colleagues he still exerts considerable influence on architectural debates.