Ruskin Lane Consulting Spring 2014 | Page 5

EDITORIAL NEWSROUND VIEW FROM THE CHAIR AN APPRECIATION View from the Chair T Emma Griffiths National Chairman, AHSS 4I he first thing I want to say in this “from the Chair” introduction to our splendid magazine, is a huge thank you to my predecessor, Peter Drummond for all of his hard work and efforts over the last five years. Happily, the Society will still benefit from Peter’s talents as he has generously agreed to maintain an active role in a new sub-committee. Peter will be serving, with others from different parts of the country, on the AHSS National Conservation committee. It’s role is still undergoing the final stages of fine tuning, but in essence it will support the regional cases panels. These panels work tirelessly to protect the built heritage in Scotland by commenting on potential threats to them, including applications to alter or demolish listed buildings, and applications for conservation area consents. Commenting on significant proposed changes to legislation, and other consultations the Society is invited to submit, will also fall within the remit of this committee, to the members of which I am indebted. Like Peter, much of my work is with projects funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. My particular angle is learning and engagement. HLF support projects that conserve heritage, and they require building or other types of conservation works to be carried out to the highest standards. Alongside rigorous, and correct, practical conservation requirements, HLF seek assurance that the conserved heritage they grant aid will have as secure a future as possible, to avoid the need for costly rescues again in future. This is in part dealt with by documentation specifying how the heritage (whether a building or a book collection or a wild wood) will be managed and maintained in future. The final dimension in securing the future of the heritage is to ensure that people know about it, understand what is important, why money is being spent to rescue it, and have chances to get involved. That final “learning and engagement” requirement often stumps people who know and care so deeply about their building, having been highly active in saving it, applying for grants and so on, for year after year. I absolutely love dreaming up ways for people to learn about heritage, and to get involved. I feel incredibly lucky to continually be working on projects that have amazing heritage at their core, and with dedicated, passionate people who care deeply about protecting that heritage. THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND I SPRING 2014 Charles McKean FRSE FRSA FRHistS FRIAS FRIBA (1946-2013) At the time of going to press, I am in the final stages of a project involving a rare survivor of the London Metropolitan Board of Works fire station building programme.The 1881 station in South London was designed for horse drawn appliances, and astonishingly, even though wider mechanised appliances were introduced in 1916, necessitating a new building, the 1881 fire station has retained its narrow doors and the decorative fenestration pattern on the front elevation is intact, along with a distinctive octagonal tower used to dry hoses. I’ve also been working on developing a learning programme for an amazing photographic collective, who have been sensitively documenting communities in Tyneside through film and still photograp hy for over four decades. ‘The Amber Collective’ operate the Side Gallery and the Side Cinema in Newcastle, both fascinating spaces in a wonderful location just below the Tyne Bridge. Their exhibition programme is outstanding and a visit is highly recommended. I’ll shortly begin a second phase of work on a building in Inverness, a redundant former Temperance Hall, for which an imaginative and creative rescue has been secured. My current office is adjacent to the AHSS one at Riddle’s Court, a building in the course of being rescued by Scotland’s biggest Building Preservation Trust, Scottish Historic Buildings Trust. Sharing the spaces, we have seen at first hand just how much time, energy, dedication and expertise are needed in so many fields, to actually rescue buildings. We wish SHBT every success with the project and others in future. Two final thoughts. I am humbled by the amount of work many members of AHSS put into the society, from the ceaseless case work, to attending meetings and arranging lectures, publications, visits, and tours. Hours of time and skills are given voluntarily. Please feel warmly appreciated. Last word, with so much to be proud of in our Society, why not recruit a new member? The Society can only benefit from greater numbers in our campaign to protect and celebrate Scotland’s built heritage. A membership would make a wonderful gift! You may also want to check that your own subscriptions are correctly leaving your account at our current rates, and if you know of someone who has moved and may have forgotten to give us a change of address, perhaps you could gently remind them. Thank you. I t was with the very greatest sadness that, in early September 2013, the National Council heard of Charles McKean’s rapidly deteriorating health and, just a few weeks later, of his untimely passing. It is a mark of the man that all of us had a fond word to say for someone who had been a fixture in Scottish architectural circles for so long. Born in Glasgow, Charles McKean was the son of the civil engineer and proprietor of the family firm McKean and Co. His early years were spent in the West before a move to Fettes for secondary education. After leaving school he spent six months at the University of Poitiers followed by a BA in philosophy, English, history and French at the University of Bristol. After graduation he moved to the RIBA in an everexpanding variety of roles, and then to the RIAS in 1979. There are few of us who will be unaware of the excellent work he did there and there was disappointment throughout the profession when, after 16 years, he was head-hunted by the University of Dundee. Ultimately he became Professor of Scottish Architectural History, a role he greatly enjoyed. I first encountered Charles’ relentless enthusiasm for architecture 25 years ago when, coinciding with the publication of 'The Scottish Thirties', he gave a series of typically exuberant lectures at the University of Strathclyde. Greatly perturbed at what he rightly identified as the loss of buildings which were not yet fully appreciated, he saw it as his task to enthuse the architects of tomorrow with an understanding of their worth. He was, of course, entirely correct and within a few years we began to study and protect our 20th century architectural heritage in a much more focussed way. Charles was a key member of the heritage movement throughout his life, more than happy to offer help and advice, sometimes with a strong dose of timely badgering, to those who required it. He enjoyed debate, to really examine the underlying issues, and to look at how we could care for our historic sites without preserving them in aspic. He stressed time and time again the need for a forward-looking vision for our architecture, converting me to his cause on the back of a fascinating list of projects from Denmark to France by way of Germany. The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland likewise has good reason to be grateful to Charles. He served on our national committee during the early 1990s, bringing to bear his hands-on understanding of architectural importance to the campaign to protect historic buildings. He was involved in our 1984 publication, 'Scottish Pioneers of the Greek Revival', regularly contributed to the Journal, wrote pieces for the magazine, organised a conference on Scottish architects’ papers, and supported our activities across the country. I am not entirely sure how he found time for so much work while raising a family, which I can only assume arose from that rare combination of boundless enthusiasm and a keen understanding of the subject. The shelf in my study is awash with architectural books, but those by Charles – and there are a great many – are better thumbed than most. His RIAS/Landmark/Rutland Press guides, the first such series comprehensively cataloguing our built heritage, provide excellent illustrations of what has been lost as well as what still exists. His work on the Scottish Chateau has pencil notes down the margin on points to discuss further, whilst sitting alongside are some of the more eclectic pieces such as 'The Battle for the North'. Charles’ enthusiastic architectural opinions, wide-ranging publications, and helpful advice have sustained me throughout my career, whether a lengthy missive or arriving at a lecture with a series of thought-provoking questions amidst what I had hitherto and mistakenly thought was a wellrounded case. The AHSS and I will both miss him greatly; we are all very much the poorer for his untimely departure. Peter Drummond Former National Chairman, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Composed by Sebastian Tombs, this is an extract of a poem recited from the minstrels’ gallery at Balgonie Castle in December 1994. It formed part of a celebratory dinner marking the departure of Charles McKean from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), after fifteen years of creative and intrepid service. Reconnaisance Man In the year of our Lord 1979 A young man came North – he WAS young at the time! To take the lead role... it was all one big IF: Who would have guessed that the rest would be myth? It was: Charles Alexander McKean! By the mid-nineteen eighties, “Marketing Man” had arrived; Up to then, we all wondered, how we’d survived – Everyone redesigned logos, and sponsored A student, a tea-shirt, an artwork, a concert, Or Charles Alexander McKean! And what of the books – heavens! Almost forgot! The ‘30s, and plans to do Scotland – the lot! With Guides in their pockets the Scots at last could Describe in OUR language, why our work is so good! Bah! Charles Alexander McKean. Then came recession, gloom and depression, Fees began falling, then firms in succession... Membership surveys revealed ghastly trends: No work for students, employment dead ends... Doom! Charles Alexander McKean... So, Academe’s called you to Bonny Dundee – I hope they’re resilient (as we seem to be!) And which of the pressures do you think will be lesser: Being called “Professor Dr” or “Dr Professor”? Yessir! CHARLES ALEXANDER MCKEAN! SPRING 2014 I THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND I 5