Bucky and bookworms Why the Neds' nectar should
s onsor a. II erary prize
PAGE IO
NEWS GOSSIP OPINION
Hadid's building continues Glasgow's riverfront renaissance
Clasgow shows its mettle
A and
Controversial Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid has been commissioned to design a new £50m museum on the banks of the Clyde, with a steel squiggle for a roof. Words: Tim Abrahams.
‘ (2 would lrke an elemerrt to the burldrng that rs really monumental rn sr/e.’ said Charlre Gordon. leader of the Glasgow Crty Corrnerl rn June 2003.
'[Somethrng] that wrll give vrsrtors the teelrng of the sheer save of the ships and dwarf them rust as the workers on the shrps WON} d\'.'arted.' 1 ast week. Glasgow City Councrl announced that /aha lladrd. who thrs year became the first woman to th the Pr'rtxker Pru‘e. would design a new transport museum. to he called the Riverside Museum. in the mouth at the Kelvrn as the latest stage in the redexelopment ot Clydesrde. Hadrd hertame. rather reluctantly. a brg name arehrteet when she won unhat rs essentrally arehrteeture's \ersrori ot the Nohel at the tender age. rn architectural terms. of 53. Gordon tropes she \.-.'rll grxe Glasgox'; ah ah ltiOltlt? hurldrhg'.
But does Glasgov. heed ahether rt‘ohrt: hurldrha h. a hrg name architect? A lrttle further upstrearrr sits the Glasgow Scrence Centre.
\'.li r rts rrronumental tower trnallt turning agarn hut r.'.rth \rsrtor' figures strll donah. Across the water" sits Sir Norman Foster's Armadrllo — husx when there's a shout on but not creating an\ actr\rt\ durrng the dax. Aecordrhg to wrrter John ’l'hackara. exhrhrtrons at the \enrce Architecture Brennale this war ga\e the rmpr'essren that the '.‘.hole developed ‘.'.'orld rs chokrng on trophx buildings. 'P'ecrselx because they are concern-xi as spectacles. these signature hurldrhgs have started to cancel each other out.‘
Glasgov; does not need anothe" trcet‘t ULllltiillg and rt's Just as well because Hadid is not gorng to gr. e them one. It amthrng. rt‘s rather rrrtxlest. Despite the trgure of “$500.1 oerhg appended to rt. enlx SSGm ‘.'.'rll be Spent 09 the barltrrhg :tsel‘
rthe rest val! be spent on the exhibits tlerrrsexes and
‘THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING
IMPRESSION OF A CITY SKYLINE'
landscaping the surrounding area. l‘rom the plan rt mgr, look like an oxerexuherarrt steel sdtrrggle hut in seetron the: l,r.rlrlr'rgr rs only on one level. ‘It rt looks lrke a str'earrr from alrone. tror'. the ground the front of the hurldrhg rs an rmpressrorr of a mi. skylrne.’ says Jrrn Hexerrrr. project drreetor at Zaha Hattr’l. llr: deserrhes rt as 'essentrallg,’ a shed' 2'.th spam;- to shox; the; exhrhrts that make the eur'r'ent (:ramped ’l‘rahsport t/iusetr'r; Irv,- erty's seeohd most popular totrrrst attraction
Glasgox'Js ‘.'.'ater’troht would not .‘.’(:l’;’,llio’: a
shout“, lrtrrldrhg either. Uhlrke most ‘.'.'ater’frohft, -r‘
the dexeloperl .'.’orirl. the Clyre rs ar;‘.i.a“, my: \‘Jor'krhg. lh the raises the shrp,ar'ts sell employed rrrore than Zed/Ill, rrrer‘ awl {we are nor. fewer than (35)"; .‘.">"l'\‘:"') r The exrstrhg shrrz‘,ards. Hadid has ;lesr:;he'r a '3, looking purldrhg that .'.'rl; uhrte a ': rrver that. rn rts owrr rs stril B, We
TllllC‘ tilt} llltlfSC‘Ul'i QI/(Er'lts. ifUll‘: C'I‘: 'Létf‘x TU";
'.'./rll be able to Match BAE ’ orhrnet't'r I:
Type Destro,er across the Late" '1 The Gox'ah Shrpxards. Glasgoz'.’ ltas gruen a great ’I‘:‘;If}l“‘:l' a"
inter'estrhg problem to some. A ‘.’lt)t£ifl'.. exotm; rra mire"
than — ‘.Lt'.'."l — a tropM. .'.'!'r hopetul'. r1,- ft‘e ":sa‘f.
Edinburgh has just succeeded in becoming the first UNESCO World City of Literature. Things just keep getting better for . . .
SCOT LIT
Total number of Ian Rankin novels sold (not including US or any translations) 6m
Scottish Book Trust estimate of number of authors currently living and working in Scotland 800
Languages (from Hindi to Ancient Greek) into which the Harry Potter books have been translated 60
Total number of Harry Potter books sold 250m
Current amazoncom sales ranking for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, published in 2003 2,294
Current amazoncom sales ranking for philosopher David Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature. published in 1740 17,960
Ranking given to Canongate chief Jamie Byng in Esqur're's list of influential under-40-year— olds in UK literature 1
“How I have longed for their utter extinction!‘ wrote Gerard Manley Hopkins after a critical scalping in Edinburgh’s Blackwood’s Magazine in 1863. Years later that it folded 1 1 7
Retail value of books sold by Scottish publishers (including HarperCollins) in 2002 £300m
Estimated benefit to Scotland. every year, of Edinburgh’s status as City of Literature £4.3m
' A'- '. .2, -'-THE LIST 7