Gillespie, Kidd & Coia
Encyclopedia
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia were a Scottish
architectural
firm famous for their application of modernism
in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary
in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, it is for their work in the post-war period that they are best known. The firm was wound up in 1987.
In 2007, the firm was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at The Lighthouse
, Glasgow.
(1873–1924), grandson of the founder, and John Gaff Gillespie as partners. William Alexander Kidd (1879–1928) joined the firm in 1898, becoming a partner, with Gillespie, in 1918 (James Salmon had left the firm in 1913). Kidd became sole partner on Gillespie's death in 1926.
In 1915 the 16 year old Giacomo Antonio ("Jack") Coia (1898–1981) joined the firm of Gillespie & Kidd as an apprentice. Coia was born in Wolverhampton
, England, to Italian parents, and was raised in Glasgow. In 1923 he left for travel to Europe and work in London, returning as a partner in 1927, at Kidd’s request following Gillespie’s death. Kidd himself died in 1928, and Coia thus inherited the practice by then known as Gillespie, Kidd & Coia.
At the time Coia took over, the practice had little work. Coia took a teaching position at the Mackintosh School of Architecture
within the Glasgow School of Art
(GSA), and began to seek new clients. After approaching Donald Mackintosh
, the Archbishop of Glasgow
, he secured the practice's first commission for a new church in 1931. The Roman Catholic Church would remain the firm's principal client until the early 1970s. In 1938, Thomas Warnett Kennedy became a partner with Coia, contributing to designs for St Peter in Chains, Ardrossan
, and the Roman Catholic pavilion for the Glasgow Empire Exhibition
. The practice also collaborated with Thomas S. Tait
on the Exhibition masterplan.
The Second World War brought a hiatus in the practice's work. The Dictionary of Scottish Architects states that Coia was interned as an enemy alien
during the war. However, Rodger disputes this, stating that there is no record of the Wolverhampton-born Coia's internment, although several of his Italian-born relatives were taken to the Isle of Man
.
Development Corporation, and despite neither of the young architects being fully qualified, they had assumed creative control by 1956. Coia's last significant architectural work was for St Charles, North Kelvinside
in 1959.
(1956), which broke with the practice's earlier church designs by embracing the Modernism
of Le Corbusier
and Frank Lloyd Wright
. Their opportunity lay in demographic changes taking place in Scotland at the time. The huge post-war construction project of new town
s relocated many people from inner city Glasgow. These changes required new churches for the new town communities, as well as new city churches to service the remaining congregations. Gillespie, Kidd & Coia were one of the few practices involved in the building of the new churches. MacMillan and Metzstein's work in the period 1956–1987 was enabled not only by MacMillan's practical experience at the new town of East Kilbride
, but also by the willingness of their principal client, the Roman Catholic Church
, to accept radical experimentation in the wake of the Second Vatican Council
.
Meanwhile Coia continued to keep up the profile of the practice through lecturing and through his roles as a prominent member of the Catenian Society of Catholic professionals, as a governor of the GSA, and as president of the Glasgow Institute of Architects. He was made a CBE
in 1967, and received the RIBA
Royal Gold Medal
in 1969.
The church-building programme drew to a close in the 1970s, and Gillespie, Kidd & Coia began to seek out alternative sources of work. They completed several schools, as well as university projects in England. After Coia's death in 1981, the practice was gradually wound down. Their limited output through the 1980s was brought to a close with the conversion of the Museum of Modern Art
in Oxford
in 1987.
style, with features such as round arches inserted into building shapes influenced by Arts and Crafts
architecture and international-style modernism
. Their use of brick walls was also bold in Scotland, where stone or render
were the dominant external building finishes. This style was continued in the second phase, after the war, but with less successful results. The third and most celebrated phase is the period 1956-1987, when Metzstein and MacMillan took over creative control, bringing with them the influence of Le Corbusier
and Frank Lloyd Wright
. Concrete, as well as brick, became a preferred material, and the practice continued to be influenced by contemporary developments of Mid-Century modern
ism and brutalism
.
forming an example from 1934-35.
Scotland is peppered with modernist ecclesiastical architecture, virtually all from the firm of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia. St Mary's, Bo'ness
(1962), since demolished; St Joseph's, Faifley
, (1964); Our Lady of Good Counsel, Dennistoun
, (1965); St Benedict's, Easterhouse
, (1965); and St. Paul's, Glenrothes
, (1956) were all geometric buildings with sweeping roofs, using new construction techniques, such as glued laminated timber
. By contrast, churches including St Charles, North Kelvinside
, (1959); St Mary of the Angels, Falkirk
, (1960); St Bride's, East Kilbride
, (1963), St Patricks, Kilsyth
, (1963); and Sacred Heart, Cumbernauld
, (1964) were all rectangular, load-bearing brick, or in the case of St Charles', exposed concrete frame with brick curtain-walling. These churches are very plain on the outside, but dramatically lit on the inside.
and Glasgow
, and the Notre Dame College in Bearsden
(1969, partially demolished 2007).
building on Buchanan Street
, Glasgow (1970). The firm undertook relatively little residential work, with projects in East Kilbride, Cumbernauld
(1961), and Stantonbury
, Milton Keynes
(1976), as well as sheltered housing
in Dumbarton (1967). In 1962, the practice completed Bellshill Maternity Hospital (demolished 2003), winning a Civic Trust Award
.
, as well as Bonar Hall at the University of Dundee
(1976). The first was for The Lawns, a group of student residences for the University of Hull
(1968). From 1971 to 1979 they worked on two extensions to Wadham College, Oxford
. These included one large block containing new undergraduate accommodation and a college library, and a smaller addition behind the King's Arms pub. This includes a small music shop for Blackwell's
, described as "a refreshing, shocking contribution to the gloomy Oxford
backstreet in which it stands" by the Architects Journal
.
Robinson College
, Cambridge
was their most important building of this phase, and the last major building they designed. Winning a competition in 1974 for the entirely new college, their building is clad almost exclusively in brick, and incorporates existing gardens dating from the 1890s and 1900s.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
firm famous for their application of modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in churches and universities, as well as at St Peter's Seminary
St. Peter's Seminary (Cardross)
St. Peter's Seminary is a disused Roman Catholic seminary near Cardross, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Designed by the firm of Gillespie, Kidd and Coia, it has been described by the international architecture conservation organisation DOCOMOMO as a modern "building of world significance"...
in Cardross. Though founded in 1927, it is for their work in the post-war period that they are best known. The firm was wound up in 1987.
In 2007, the firm was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse (Glasgow)
The Lighthouse in Glasgow, is Scotland's Centre for Architecture, Design and the City. It was opened as part of Glasgow's status as UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999....
, Glasgow.
Origins
The Scottish architect James Salmon (1805–1888) established a practice in Glasgow in 1830. John Gaff Gillespie (1870–1926) was hired in 1891, when the practice was known as James Salmon & Son, and was run by the son, William Forrest Salmon. The practice name was changed in 1903 to Salmon & Son & Gillespie, with James SalmonJames Salmon (1873-1924)
James Salmon was a Scottish architect, who practiced mainly in Glasgow. One of his most famous buildings is "The Hatrack" in St Vincent Street, a heavily glass-fronted Art Nouveau tower, remarkable in execution for its day...
(1873–1924), grandson of the founder, and John Gaff Gillespie as partners. William Alexander Kidd (1879–1928) joined the firm in 1898, becoming a partner, with Gillespie, in 1918 (James Salmon had left the firm in 1913). Kidd became sole partner on Gillespie's death in 1926.
In 1915 the 16 year old Giacomo Antonio ("Jack") Coia (1898–1981) joined the firm of Gillespie & Kidd as an apprentice. Coia was born in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, England, to Italian parents, and was raised in Glasgow. In 1923 he left for travel to Europe and work in London, returning as a partner in 1927, at Kidd’s request following Gillespie’s death. Kidd himself died in 1928, and Coia thus inherited the practice by then known as Gillespie, Kidd & Coia.
Early years
Mackintosh School of Architecture
The Mackintosh School of Architecture of the University of Glasgow/Glasgow School of Art is one of the three schools which makes up the Glasgow School of Art, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow, Scotland. The Mackintosh School of Architecture is the GSA's only academic school concerned...
within the Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
(GSA), and began to seek new clients. After approaching Donald Mackintosh
Donald Mackintosh (archbishop)
Donald Mackintosh was a Scottish clergyman who served as the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow from 1922 to 1943.Born in Glasnacardoch, Inverness-shire on 10 October 1876, he was ordained a priest on 1 November 1900. He was appointed the Archbishop of the Metropolitan see of Glasgow on 24...
, the Archbishop of Glasgow
Archbishop of Glasgow
The Bishop of Glasgow, from 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow...
, he secured the practice's first commission for a new church in 1931. The Roman Catholic Church would remain the firm's principal client until the early 1970s. In 1938, Thomas Warnett Kennedy became a partner with Coia, contributing to designs for St Peter in Chains, Ardrossan
Ardrossan
Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in south-western Scotland. The name "Ardrossan" describes its physical position — 'ard' from the Gaelic àird meaning headland, 'ros' a promontory and the diminutive suffix '-an' - headland of the little promontory...
, and the Roman Catholic pavilion for the Glasgow Empire Exhibition
Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938
Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 was an international exposition held at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, from May to December 1938....
. The practice also collaborated with Thomas S. Tait
Thomas S. Tait
Thomas Smith Tait was a prominent Scottish Modernist architect. He designed a number of buildings around the world in Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles, notably St...
on the Exhibition masterplan.
The Second World War brought a hiatus in the practice's work. The Dictionary of Scottish Architects states that Coia was interned as an enemy alien
Enemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
during the war. However, Rodger disputes this, stating that there is no record of the Wolverhampton-born Coia's internment, although several of his Italian-born relatives were taken to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
Post-war period
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was revived in 1945, although without Kennedy, who later emigrated to Canada. Coia hired 18 year old Isi Metzstein as an apprentice, and continued to design churches and other works for the Roman Catholic Church. The firm's work of this period is considered by architectural historians to be inferior. Rodger describes Coia's difficulty with seeing projects through, which was countered by his "flair for heading an architectural office". This led to the development of an atelier-style practice, with Coia gradually handing over design control to concentrate on client relations. In 1954 Andy MacMillan, a contemporary of Metzstein at the GSA, joined the firm from the East KilbrideEast Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
Development Corporation, and despite neither of the young architects being fully qualified, they had assumed creative control by 1956. Coia's last significant architectural work was for St Charles, North Kelvinside
North Kelvinside
North Kelvinside is a middle-class residential district of the Scottish city of Glasgow....
in 1959.
MacMillan and Metzstein
The first result of the new designers was St Paul's, GlenrothesGlenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
(1956), which broke with the practice's earlier church designs by embracing the Modernism
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. Their opportunity lay in demographic changes taking place in Scotland at the time. The huge post-war construction project of new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
s relocated many people from inner city Glasgow. These changes required new churches for the new town communities, as well as new city churches to service the remaining congregations. Gillespie, Kidd & Coia were one of the few practices involved in the building of the new churches. MacMillan and Metzstein's work in the period 1956–1987 was enabled not only by MacMillan's practical experience at the new town of East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, but also by the willingness of their principal client, the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, to accept radical experimentation in the wake of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
.
Meanwhile Coia continued to keep up the profile of the practice through lecturing and through his roles as a prominent member of the Catenian Society of Catholic professionals, as a governor of the GSA, and as president of the Glasgow Institute of Architects. He was made a CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1967, and received the RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
Royal Gold Medal
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
in 1969.
The church-building programme drew to a close in the 1970s, and Gillespie, Kidd & Coia began to seek out alternative sources of work. They completed several schools, as well as university projects in England. After Coia's death in 1981, the practice was gradually wound down. Their limited output through the 1980s was brought to a close with the conversion of the Museum of Modern Art
Modern Art Oxford
Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford.-Foundation:...
in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1987.
Architectural work
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's work can be split into three main phases, coinciding with the historical development of the practice. Early works were executed in a neo-romanesqueRomanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style, with features such as round arches inserted into building shapes influenced by Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
architecture and international-style modernism
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
. Their use of brick walls was also bold in Scotland, where stone or render
Harl
Harling is a Scottish term describing an exterior building surfacing technique. The theory of harling is to produce a long-lasting weatherproof shield for a stone building. A pigment can be embedded in the harled material, thus obviating the need for repainting...
were the dominant external building finishes. This style was continued in the second phase, after the war, but with less successful results. The third and most celebrated phase is the period 1956-1987, when Metzstein and MacMillan took over creative control, bringing with them the influence of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. Concrete, as well as brick, became a preferred material, and the practice continued to be influenced by contemporary developments of Mid-Century modern
Mid-century modern
Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965...
ism and brutalism
Brutalist architecture
Brutalist architecture is a style of architecture which flourished from the 1950s to the mid 1970s, spawned from the modernist architectural movement.-The term "brutalism":...
.
Churches
The firm was already designing churches with a modern influence in the 1930s. with St. Patrick's, Orangefield, GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
forming an example from 1934-35.
Bo'ness
Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...
(1962), since demolished; St Joseph's, Faifley
Faifley
Faifley is a large council estate forming part of the town of Clydebank, Scotland, adjoining the former village of Hardgate, with a population of approximately 5,000....
, (1964); Our Lady of Good Counsel, Dennistoun
Dennistoun
Dennistoun is a district of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated north of the River Clyde in the east end of the city. It is made up of a number of smaller districts - Milnbank to the north, 'The Drives' in the centre of the area and Bellgrove below Duke Street to the south. In a 2004...
, (1965); St Benedict's, Easterhouse
Easterhouse
Easterhouse is a suburb about east of Glasgow city centre, Scotland. It was partially built on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of a boundary expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. Building began in the mid-1950s by the then local authority, Glasgow Corporation...
, (1965); and St. Paul's, Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
, (1956) were all geometric buildings with sweeping roofs, using new construction techniques, such as glued laminated timber
Glued laminated timber
Glued laminated timber, also called Glulam, is a type of structural timber product composed of several layers of dimensioned timber bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant adhesives. This material is called 'laminating stock' or lamstock for short.By laminating several smaller pieces of...
. By contrast, churches including St Charles, North Kelvinside
North Kelvinside
North Kelvinside is a middle-class residential district of the Scottish city of Glasgow....
, (1959); St Mary of the Angels, Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
, (1960); St Bride's, East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
, (1963), St Patricks, Kilsyth
Kilsyth
Kilsyth is a town of 10,100 roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.-Location:...
, (1963); and Sacred Heart, Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
, (1964) were all rectangular, load-bearing brick, or in the case of St Charles', exposed concrete frame with brick curtain-walling. These churches are very plain on the outside, but dramatically lit on the inside.
St Peter's Seminary
St. Peter's Seminary in Cardross, Argyll and Bute is regarded as Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's most significant work. However since the building's closure in the 1980s it has been in a ruinous state.Schools and colleges
Gillespie, Kidd & Coia carried out several school commissions, including Roman Catholic schools in BellshillBellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and the Notre Dame College in Bearsden
Bearsden
Bearsden ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the City Centre, and is effectively a suburb, with housing development coinciding with the introduction of a railway line in 1863, and from where the town gets its name...
(1969, partially demolished 2007).
Offices and other works
The firm's most prominent office commission was the BOACBoac
Boac may refer to:* Boac, Marinduque, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* Boac , an American rapper* British Overseas Airways Corporation, a former British state-owned airline...
building on Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: Argyle Street, and Sauchiehall Street.-History:...
, Glasgow (1970). The firm undertook relatively little residential work, with projects in East Kilbride, Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...
(1961), and Stantonbury
Stantonbury
Stantonbury is a district of Milton Keynes, ceremonial Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the northern edge, between Great Linford and Wolverton...
, Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
(1976), as well as sheltered housing
Sheltered housing
Sheltered housing is a British English term covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people. Most commonly it refers to grouped housing such as a block or "scheme" of flats or bungalows with a scheme manager or "officer"; traditionally the manager has...
in Dumbarton (1967). In 1962, the practice completed Bellshill Maternity Hospital (demolished 2003), winning a Civic Trust Award
Scottish Civic Trust
The Scottish Civic Trust is a registered charity. Founded in 1967, and based in the Category A listed Tobacco Merchants House in Glasgow, the Trust aims to provide "leadership and focus in the protection, enhancement and development of Scotland's built environment"...
.
University architecture
From the late 1960s, Gillespie, Kidd & Coia executed three major university projects in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, as well as Bonar Hall at the University of Dundee
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee is a university based in the city and Royal burgh of Dundee on eastern coast of the central Lowlands of Scotland and with a small number of institutions elsewhere....
(1976). The first was for The Lawns, a group of student residences for the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
(1968). From 1971 to 1979 they worked on two extensions to Wadham College, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. These included one large block containing new undergraduate accommodation and a college library, and a smaller addition behind the King's Arms pub. This includes a small music shop for Blackwell's
Blackwell's
Blackwell UK Ltd is a national chain of bookshops, online retail, mail order and library supply services in the United Kingdom, which has an annual turnover of £74 million...
, described as "a refreshing, shocking contribution to the gloomy Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
backstreet in which it stands" by the Architects Journal
Architects Journal
The Architects' Journal is a weekly architectural magazine published in London by Emap. The first edition was produced in 1896. Commonly referred to by architects as the AJ, its articles cover matters of more immediate interest than its sister publication the Architectural Review...
.
Robinson College
Robinson College, Cambridge
Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.Robinson is the newest of the Cambridge colleges, and is unique in being the only one to have been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of either sex.- History :The college was founded...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
was their most important building of this phase, and the last major building they designed. Winning a competition in 1974 for the entirely new college, their building is clad almost exclusively in brick, and incorporates existing gardens dating from the 1890s and 1900s.
External links
- Gillespie, Kidd & Coia Architecture 1956-1987
- Gillespie, Kidd & Coia at The Twentieth Century SocietyThe Twentieth Century SocietyThe Twentieth Century Society is a British charity which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards. The society's interests extend to buildings or artefacts, whether important or humble, rare or commonplace, that characterise Twentieth Century Britain.The Sociey was...
- Gillespie, Kidd & Coia at e-architect
- Gillespie, Kidd & Coia: Architecture 1956-1987 exhibition at The Lighthouse