A quick look at the highlights of Glasgow 1999
Alexander 'Greek' Thomson
As nicknames go, it’s unusual. But then Alexander ’Greek’ Thomson was no ordinary guy. He is Glasgow's 'other’ great architect who, along with Charles Rennie Mackintosh, gave the city a reputation of architectural innovation. Born in 1815, ’Greek' -~ unsurprismgly — had a penchant for classical architecture of Greece as well as a keen eye for Egyptian and Hindu detailing. His knack was bringing all these elements together in grand architectural statements that proclaimed Glasgow’s wealth and architectural daring.
Alexander Thomson: The Unknown Genius, The Lighthouse, 77 Jun-22 Aug.
Glasgow Collection
Dead architects and deSIgners are ever-ripe for veneration, but what about the live and kicking generation? Glasgow is a hothouse of talent and, in the name of spreading the word, the Glasgow Collection shouts about the City’s contemporary creators Launched specifically to promote the design scene not JUSI Within the UK but globally, the Glasgow Collection plans to bring a number of prototypes into production. From an eight foot stainless steel bath entitled Ursula, deSIgned by Submarine, to Pup furniture by Timerous Beasties, the aim is to take design from the showroom to the home.
The Glasgow Collection, The Lighthouse, 9 Oct 7999— 76 Jan 2000.
Homes For The Future
Urban livmg for the new millennium is no longer Just a case of bricks and mortar. Issues of energy conservation, the enVironment and, yes, the demise of the nuclear family, all have an effect on the architecture of the domestic dwelling. On Glasgow Green, five developers and a range of architects are working wrth a local housing association to create resolutely contemporary homes. During Glasgow 1999, 100 homes Will form an exhibition while, by 2005, 250 new homes Will be up for sale or rent.
Homes For The Future, Glasgow Green,
Ju/~—Oct 7999.
Exhibitions
Why are fire engines or, for that matter, telephone boxes red? With connotations of danger, political revolution and an undercurrent of pure sexmess, The Shape Of Colour; Red unravels all you have ever wanted to know about the c‘o|0ur. Elsewhere in the Glasgow 1999 exhibition schedule, 20th century architect heavyweights Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto and lvlies van der Rohe receive solo shows, while Food; The Design And Culture looks at life in the kitchen, from the rise and fall of the Brit mainstay of ’meat and two veg' to the invasion of the wok and polenta, and on to the spread of ’restaurant culture’. Taking on the global scene is Vertigo: The Strange New World Of The Contemporary City which looks at building developments from Berlin and Shanghai. And, it seems, the only way is up Welcome to the age of the ultra-high skyscraper. The .Shape Of Colour: Red, The lighthouse, 17 Sep 2] Nov. Food; The Design And Culture, Art Gallery and Museum, Ke/vmgrove, 8 May 22 Aug. Frank Lloyd Wright And The Livrng City; Art Gallery and Museum, KO/Vlllg/Ol/(I 79 Feb I 1 Apr. Mies van der‘ Rohe, The Burre/l ('o/lec tron, 14 May 29 Aug. Vertigo The Strange New World Of The Contemporary City, The Old lrurtmarket, 26 Feb 16 May,
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