Fragments of Glasgow by Rosalie Menon
Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Reviews
Five Stars
Best for:
Those interested in Victorian architecture. Those who live in or want to learn more about Glasgow.
In a nutshell:
Author Menon explores the various 19th century architecture in Glasgow, splitting thorough text with gorgeous photos.
Worth quoting:
“… repurposing these historic buildings is an inherently sustainable option.”
Why I chose it:
We purchased moved to Glasgow last year and live in a tenement flat. I’ve become fascinated with the architecture in this city.
Review:
I love Victorian architecture. I love stone buildings that aren’t more than five or six stories tall at most, with detailed stonework and ironwork. I get that its often not possible to build in the same way now, especially if stone quarries or spent, but man, I love the way it looks. I find mid-20th-century and Brutalist architecture to both be deeply depressing to look at, so its fun to live in a city that has so much of the building style I like.
This book looks at a variety of types of building in Glasgow and divides it into industry, retail, office, finance, places of worship, parks and public, housing, civic building, education, cultural, social spaces, and transport. It starts with a discussion of architecture, materials, construction, and reuse, so there is a base set before Menon jumps into looking at the details and history of loads of individual locations. There are over 125 full color photos in the book, along with an index of addresses so one could go to the places to view them.
It was fun to look over as I recognized quite a few of the highlighted buildings, but others were ones I’d not seen before and will make an effort to go check out.
What’s next for this book:
Keep and flip through regularly.
