August 16 2005

The line-up for the Scottish Design Show has been firmed up even further with the announcement that Professor Stuart Gulliver, an internationally recognised expert in the regeneration of cities and communities, will kick off the show with his thoughts on the future of Scotland’s cities. Gulliver has just finished the first stage of work with the internationally renowned architect Massimiliano Fuksas on the Draft Vision and Regeneration Framework for Central Salford (pictured). Fuksas described him as “excellent”, and local councillors hope the masterplan to which he contributed will turn the town into “the most beautiful area of Greater Manchester”.
Gulliver is the latest expert to join the list of speakers for the Design Show, which is run by Prospect magazine. The event, supported by the Scottish Executive, will bring together politicians, academics, public agencies, private sector and the public to discuss and debate the development of Scotland’s rural and urban landscape. Other individuals include Amin Taha, one of the most promising architects from London, and Tony Hunt. Alan Pert, who with Zoo Architects designed the renovation of the Tramway in which the conference is held, will also present a specially created pavilion for the event.
Gulliver achieved his international status largely thanks to the key leadership he contributed in the revival of Glasgow over the past 20 years at the highest management level of the regeneration process. He has been a key practitioner in this field throughout Scotland and even since he was called on to work on the Salford project and do work for the council in his native Sheffield, he has still managed to dedicate himself to his roles as Professor of City Development at the University of Glasgow, and as a member of the Scottish Executive’s Review of Scottish Cities Group.
With Ricardo Marini and Gerry Grams, along with outspoken commentator Peter Wilson, set to discuss the issue of Who Needs A Design Guru? on the second day of the conference, the conference is set to achieve its intended goal of stimulating debate on how Scotland consciously forges the future of its urban and rural landscape. In doing so the conference will bring the public and private sector in order to have an informed debate on the direction in which building design is heading. This no doubt will be the core focus of the first plenary session of the conference, which poses the question, “Is the Future Tartan?” The panel that will try to answer this will be Erland Rendell, from Davis Langdon, Ian Wall, chief executive of the EDI Group, and James Woudhuysen, of De Montfort University.
In additon to the series of talks and seminars, the Scottish Design Show will also host two exhibitions. The first is the 100 Best Buildings of the Last 50 Years, a radical reappraisal of the architectural canon which rejects the idea that Scottish architecture was reborn in the 1990s, after a hiatus of several decades. Also in exhibition will be the short-list for the much loved Carbuncles, which have been revived to highlight the importance of quality design in the building process.

Post your comments

Your name (required)
Your email (not displayed)
Comments (required)
	All comments are pre-moderated and must obey our house rules.