Keppie Design

In the 19th century, Glasgow Cross was seen as the heart of the city, the City Chambers in George Square not being completed until 1890. Until the late 20th century, it was still the place to congregate to bring in the New Year. During Victorian and Edwardian times, the constricted nature of the junction of High Street as it met Glasgow Cross caused severe traffic problems. The destruction of the Tontine Hotel by fire in 1911 prompted a radical reassessment of the Cross, and Honeyman and Keppie’s scheme for the site, submitted in July 1914, won Glasgow Corporation’s competition. Graham Henderson is attributed with the design of the masterplan and the buildings finally erected. He had played a part in the winning of the 1913 competition for Jordanhill School, and these two projects would be seen by Keppie as the basis for rebuilding the practice after the war. Mercat Building images from Charles Rennie Mackintosh & Co book by David Stark. #keppie170 #keppie #anniversary #architecture #interiordesign #townplanning #glasgow #glasgowhistory #mercatglasgow #mercatbuilding #charlesrenniemackintosh

THE MERCAT BUILDING (1914 and 1923-1931) The Mercat Building is one of the surviving structures from an ambitious urban masterplan for Glasgow Cross won in a Glasgow Corporation design competition by Honeyman and Keppie. The design is attributed to Graham Henderson; a hugely talented draughtsman who was appointed by Mackintosh and worked as his assistant until Mackintosh left the practice in 1914. Image courtesy of Natalie Tweedie #keppie170 #keppie #anniversary #architecture #interiordesign #townplanning #glasgow #glasgowhistory #mercatglasgow #mercatbuilding #charlesrenniemackintosh

Throughout the year of our 170th birthday celebrations, we have looked back on notable projects from our archives and collaborated with local artist Natalie Tweedie / Nebo Peklo, who has been commissioning illustrations of Keppie buildings each month. These are now available to purchase on Natalie’s website, with £5 from every print going to our charity partner SAMH! Order yours now by visiting the website: https://bit.ly/4hmxFje Keep your eyes peeled for the final 3 illustrations, released at the end of each month. #Keppie170 #nebopeklo #architecture #design #historicglasgow #archives #SAMH

📢 Last chance to register! Join us for the IPF Scotland Seminar: Sustainable Real Estate: Repurposing, ESG, and Legal Insights on Wednesday, 30th October at Keppie Design, Glasgow. 🕛 Time: 12.00pm – 2.00pm (Registration from 12.00pm) 📍 Venue: Keppie Design, 160 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 4RL 💬 Chair: Chris Robinson, Dentons UK and Middle East LLP 🎤 Speakers: Gaelen Doherty, Dentons UK and Middle East LLP Chris Mitchell, Keppie Design Deepika Singhal, Hollis Stuart Patience, Hollis Neil Whatley, Keppie Design This seminar will spotlight the redevelopment of Buchanan House in Cowcaddens—a pioneering 500+ Build-to-Rent project, featuring 70 build-for-sale homes and a Community Hall Hub. Learn how this project achieved 97% reuse of the original structure and set a benchmark for Net Zero urban development. We'll also dive into key topics like: 🌱 Green Leases within the ESG Framework 🏛️ The M&S Marble Arch case and its implications for low-carbon regeneration in the UK 💹 Financial risks and the evolving considerations around embodied carbon in development. Don’t miss out on the latest insights into sustainable real estate! 🌍 🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/eNEugfCG

🌍 Join us at the IPF Scotland Seminar: Sustainable Real Estate - Repurposing, ESG, and Legal Insights 🌍 📅 Date: 30th October 2024 🕛 Time: 12.00pm – 2.00pm 📍 Venue: Keppie Design, 160 West Regent St, Glasgow, G2 4RL Discover how sustainable real estate is evolving! This seminar will feature the groundbreaking redevelopment of Buchanan House in Cowcaddens, where an industry-leading team designed a 500+ unit Build-to-Rent project, including over 70 homes for sale and a Community Hall Hub. With a 97% reuse of the original structure, this project has set the bar for Whole Life Carbon's impact, winning the ARL Whole Life Cost Award for its Net Zero design. Key topics include: Green leases and the risks of non-compliance within the ESG Framework. The overturned M&S Marble Arch case, its significance for low-carbon regeneration, and the challenges in reducing embodied carbon. The newly launched UK Net Zero Carbon Standard defines the future of zero-carbon buildings. Solar PV opportunities and how to de-risk projects for successful implementation. 🗣 Speakers: Chris Robinson, Dentons UK and Middle East LLP (Chair) Chris Mitchell, Keppie Design Deepika Singhal, Hollis Gaelen Doherty, Dentons UK and Middle East LLP Neil Whatley, Keppie Design Stuart Patience, Hollis Don't miss this insightful event that will address the most pressing issues in sustainable development and explore the path to achieving the 2050 net-zero carbon target. 🔗 IPF members can register with this link. https://lnkd.in/eNEugfCG

We recently held a pottery painting class in support of our Charity of the Year, SAMH , hosted by THE CRAFT POTTERY LTD. Our team had an amazing time, even though painting straight lines proved to be more challenging than expected! Who knew it could be so tricky? A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful hosts for an unforgettable evening! Take a look at some action shots from the event and admire our finished masterpieces. #keppie #SAMH #thecraftpottery #socialconscience #creative #design

It’s World Mental Health Day 2024 and this year’s theme is ‘It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace’. Keppie have put this into practice over the last 2 years during our partnership with SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health). In January 2023, we committed to raising £20,000 for the charity; to help support the essential work they do for Scotland’s mental health. Over this period, whilst we have engaged in various physical challenges, with raising funds and boosting our own physical wellbeing, we have also reflected internally on our day-to-day interactions at work. Mental health impacts every aspect of our daily lives, both personally and professionally, so we have focused on understanding our own mental wellbeing and of those around us, prioritising taking the time to speak and engage with each other, whilst hosting a range of activities such as ‘Time to Talk’ day, bake sales, pottery painting, games nights, quizzes and more – all whilst raising funds as a collective workplace team for SAMH. Keppie are thrilled to announce on World Mental Health Day that we have achieved our target of £20,000, and would like to thank every single person who has helped us achieve this; firstly our staff for their continued support and dedication over the last few years, to our charity team who have organised each event from triathlons to table tennis, to art auctions, and to all of our sponsors – we could not have done this without you! #Keppie #SAMH #charity #mentalhealth #worldmentalhealthday #mentalhealthmatters

Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Offices: A personal perspective by Paul Sweeney MSP. I was first captivated by the Fairfield building as a boy, when going to see the launch of a ship that my dad had been building in Govan shipyard in the 1990s. The grandeur & scale of the main red sandstone frontage to Govan Rd was immediately impressive & conveyed a sense of pride in the industry. Even at that young age, I was proud to be associated with this great shipbuilding community. I was reacquainted with the building in 2011 when I started working at the shipyard. The building had fallen into disuse in the early 2000s & social enterprise, Govan Workspace, were about to begin work to renovate it into a heritage centre & office studios. I supported the project as an ‘extra-curricular’ activity to my day job, scouring through spaces in the shipyard for old models, artwork & furnishings to take to the new heritage centre for display. These included the centrepiece electrolier in the lobby, which is from the old boardroom of the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company in Scotstoun, the model of the Sea Launch Commander that my dad had helped build, & the old boardroom table from Yarrow Shipbuilders, which had most recently been on board HMS Duncan during her sea trials! Volunteering with the team that brought the building back to life also gave me an appreciation for just how pioneering it was. This is most potently symbolised by the figures of a shipwright & a marine engineer flanking the main entrance, sculpted by James Pittendrigh Macgillivray. The integration of shipbuilding & marine engineering was first conceived by John Elder in the 1860s & manifested in the layout of Fairfield, which was the world’s 1st modern integrated shipyard & marine engine works. With only minor alterations the plan of the present shipyard survives largely as John Elder conceived it. His statue in Elder Park, erected by public subscription in 1888, with the park originally laid out to a scheme by John Honeyman, carries the inscription: "By his many inventions, particularly in connection with the compound engine, he effected a revolution in engineering second only to that accomplished by James Watt, & in great measure, originated the developments in steam propulsion which have created modern commerce." The spectacular offices by John Keppie, commissioned under Elder’s successor Sir William Pearce, are the culmination of his vision for this iconic industry in Glasgow, with Fairfield growing to be the city’s greatest shipyard. The relationship of Honeyman, Keppie, Elder & Pearce during this period is an immensely powerful expression of Glasgow’s genius during a ‘gilded age’ where industrial innovation was given extraordinary expression in the architecture of the shipyard. Image courtesy of Natalie Tweedie /NeboPeklo Read in full: https://bit.ly/3MXaf6h #Keppie170 #Keppie #architecture #design #historicglasgow #govan #archives #glasgowlife #mackintosh #shipbuilding

With Honeyman having taken on John Keppie as a partner just over a year earlier, this was the largest project that the practice had carried out. The relationship between Honeyman and his patrons, the Napiers and Elders can be seen in the body of work carried out around the context of the Fairfield offices. Between 1864, when Govan became a burgh, and the time when the Fairfield offices were commissioned, the local population rose from 9,058 to over 56,000 with four shipbuilding and engineering yards being established. Elder Park – laid out by Honeyman, following a philanthropic award by Isabella Elder – became the centre of an industrial community that was the undisputed leader of world shipbuilding. Honeyman completed several notable projects in Govan during this period of growth. There was accommodation for 350 people at Govan Free Church in 1862, subsequently converted to a theatre and music hall. Dean Park Parish Church, and the adjacent Dean Park Baptist Church in 1872 and 1877 respectively. St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in 1879 still stands, although Oatlands Trinity and Elder Park churches have been demolished. A monument to Pearce, and Fairfield Public School, which opened in 1875, and housed 1775 children completed these significant projects for the practice in the fifteen years leading up to the design of the Fairfield Offices. It could be argued that the foundation for the practice that would become Honeyman, Keppie and Mackintosh was laid in Govan. Whilst Honeyman secured the commission, Keppie led the project, and Mackintosh is believed to have assisted him in one of his first projects as a young draughtsman. We’re very proud that such a significant building in the development of Glasgow’s industrial heritage continues to serve its local community more than 130 years after it opened, repurposed as a flagship project symbolising Govan’s regeneration. Text extracts taken from ‘Mackintosh and Co’, by David Stark, and with thanks to Fairfield Heritage. www.fairfieldgovan.co.uk #Keppie170 #Keppie #architecture #design #historicglasgow #govan #archives #glasgowlife #mackintosh #shipbuilding

Susan Weir and DAVID BUCHAN, both key individuals who lead our healthcare sector, are attending the IHEEM (The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management) Healthcare Estates Conference, Exhibition & Awards at Manchester Central next week. If you’d like to arrange a meeting, please drop either Susan or David a message to understand more about their healthcare experience & expertise. They are looking forward to meeting both existing contacts and establishing new connections! Healthcare Estates 2024 - 8th and 9th October - Manchester Central #healthcaredesign #iheem #healthcareestates #keppie #architecture #interiordesign #townplanning