The second in our 2017 series of talks is by Professor Dean Hawkes.

His talk will focus on the work of Sir John Soane, in particular his house at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Law Courts at Westminster (long ago demolished, but remarkable), the Bank of England and the Dulwich Picture Gallery. When Sir John Soane died in 1837, Alexander Thomson was 20 years old. The two men were therefore, just, contemporaries. They also shared a deep engagement in applying the ‘classical language of architecture’, in Summerson’s terminology, in the transformation of two great cities, London and Glasgow. This lecture explores Soane’s response to London at the dawn of the 19th century.

We are delighted to confirm that the venue for this talk will be the Seona Reid Building at the Glasgow School of Art, providing an opportunity to experience the interior of Steven Holl’s new addition to the campus. Both Holl in Glasgow and Soane in London share a desire to manipulate and modulate light in their interiors.

Professor Dean Hawkes:
Emeritus Professor of Architectural Design, Welsh School of Architecture.
Emeritus Fellow, Darwin College, Cambridge.
Visiting Professor, Mackintosh School of Architecture, 2004-2009.
Four RIBA Awards for Architecture in partnership with Stephen Greenberg, 1983-1994.
RIBA Annie Spink Award for Architectural Education (2010),

His published works include:
The Environmental Tradition (1996)
The Environmental Imagination (2008)
Architecture and Climate (2012)
The buildings of Sir John Soane (1753-1837) are discussed in all the above.

A unique opportunity to see the BBC’s new documentary on the life and work of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson on the big screen, this event also features a Q&A with the director.

“David Hayman goes in search of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, the visionary architect who, a generation before Charles Rennie Mackintosh, transformed industrial Glasgow with some of the most exotic and exciting buildings in the world.”

In the bicentenary of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s birth, join Glasgow City Heritage Trust & The Alexander Thomson Society to ‘talk Thomson’ and decide: what is Thomson’s best building?

One of the Glasgow’s greatest architects, Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson is praised for his originality, use of modern technologies and his personal Graeco-Egyptian style. Following on from the heated debates of our Battle of the Architects series and in the bicentenary of his birth, join Glasgow City Heritage Trust & The Alexander Thomson Society to ‘talk Thomson’ and decide once and for all: which of Thomson’s iconic works is really top of the pile? Can our speakers make a convincing argument for their favourite Thomson masterpiece in this architectural face-off?

ATS members receive free entry to this event, contact info@alexanderthomsonsociety.co.uk to receive your unique password.

Discover a Thomson villa and 2 villas by other architects, some of Alexander Thomson’s beautiful external detailing of 5 of his residential buildings in Glasgow and where the 7 Glasgow muses are to be found.

The Alexander Thomson Society are pleased to present a rare books event in association with The Mitchell Library.

Glasgow architect and director of the Society, Scott Abercrombie, will deliver a talk giving a historical context to the importance of these books in relation to Thomson’s work and other contemporary Glaswegian architects. He will discuss built examples where the influence of these texts can be found in the architecture of Glasgow or where the ideas that they present have influenced the Thomson’s design philosophy.

Following this introduction a number of rare editions of these books will be made available for your perusal by The Mitchell Library. Due to the sensitivity of some of these texts the we have had to limit the number of tickets for this event, so book early to avoid disappointment.