\n Instead of saving amazing buildings, too often the tendency has been to neglect them, then tear them down, according to Professor Bruce Peter of Glasgow School of Art.\n<\/p>\n
\n The loss of architectural gems by famous long-dead architects is well-documented, and the modern buildings of the 1960s and 1970s which replaced them are often despised \u2013 with King Charles being a leading critic.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, while many were badly designed and hastily built, there are examples of modernism that deserve to be preserved and cherished, Professor Peter argues.\n<\/p>\n
\n Motherwell Civic Centre(Image: )\n<\/p>\n
\n His new book, illustrated by stunning pictures, shows some of the best around Scotland and highlights those in danger.\n<\/p>\n
\n The buildings featured in Modernist Scotland are not only those valued by modern architects but also those valued by the public, as the two are not always the same.\n<\/p>\n
\n Included are The Ritz Cafe in Millport<\/a>, Barrowland Ballroom and the Tunnock\u2019s factory in Glasgow as well as schools and churches.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE: Optimo DJ Keith McIvor dies aged 57 as tributes pour in<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n Professor Peter, whose great-grand uncle, Thomas Smellie, designed the Victoria buildings in Kilmarnock, which were sadly set on fire and destroyed recently, appreciates both the old and new.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019ve always thought that architecture and construction were examples of Scottish genius,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you go back to the 17th century or even earlier, you find that Scottish architecture was exceptional and very influential in the world.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cIn Chicago and New York, you really see the influence of Scottish architects who went to the United States, which is why Batman was filmed in Glasgow \u2013 it looks just like those cities.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThis is something I think the nation ought to be proud of and take more seriously and certainly not destroy fine buildings of any generation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n He acknowledges, however, that while people mourn the older buildings in Scotland that have been lost or are in a state of neglect, modern architecture has been viewed more as an alien imposition, one that was imposed particularly on the working classes against their will in the 1960s.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWhat happened then was actually tragic, especially in Glasgow, where whole areas of the city were flattened and rebuilt,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cBut I think part of the problem here, as with so many things in Britain, is that much of the new housing was built in a kind of crisis mode and as quickly as possible.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThat has coloured people\u2019s thinking about modernism in Scotland and dominated the subsequent history, but ignores the fact that there were actually a very great many really fine buildings.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n The new book is the most comprehensive study ever written about Scotland\u2019s complicated relationship with modernism, examining more than 150 different buildings and places in towns, cities and countryside across the country.\n<\/p>\n \n Its publication coincides with an upsurge of interest in modernist buildings in Scotland and recent high-profile sales of the Bernat Klein Studio near Selkirk<\/a> and the former Glasgow College of Building and Printing.\n<\/p>\n \n An introductory essay in the book describes the social challenges and emergent technologies that gave rise to this revolutionary era of design and architecture across Scotland.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE: ‘We stand in solidarity’: First Minister writes to Palestinians arriving in Scotland<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n Professor Peter hopes it will encourage people to see the best of Scotland\u2019s post-war buildings in a new light, and appreciate that they were very diverse, ranging from power stations to pubs, town centres to sewage works.\n<\/p>\n \n With the creation of new towns like East Kilbride<\/a> and Cumbernauld<\/a>, Scottish modernism gained an international profile for its distinct post-war architecture, and this is detailed in the book through beautiful photographs, historical context and detailed analysis of the buildings included.\n<\/p>\n \n Amongst the modernist landmarks featured are the Cumbernauld Town Centre megastructure, Renfrew Airport and Dounreay nuclear reactor.\n<\/p>\n \n \n The book notes how many fine examples are now in states of neglect, have been unsympathetically altered, or destroyed in their entirety.\n<\/p>\n \n Cumbernauld Town Centre, which once attracted international visitors because it was a prototype of a megastructure where all the facilities were under one roof, is a case in point.\n<\/p>\n \n The plan is to demolish it, but while Professor Peter thinks it would be a good idea to get rid of around 40%, he believes the core should be preserved and renewed.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThe core building is a magnificent one and a skyline landmark in the town but has been badly treated and then just neglected,\u201d he said. \u201cNow the plan is to just repeat the mistakes of the 1960s and just demolish the whole thing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n It looks so bad now that it\u2019s hard to imagine what it could be like but he believes demolishing it would be a lost opportunity that would later be regretted.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019ll do it because they can, and then people will wish it hadn\u2019t happened,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you think about it, there isn\u2019t such a great difference between teenagers taking cigarette lighters to a derelict building and local authorities taking bulldozers to it. It\u2019s all destructive behaviour.\u201d\n<\/p>\nCumbernauld town centre(Image: )\n<\/p>\n