After decades of misuse, neglect, and demolition, Scotland's modernist architecture is experiencing a remarkable revival. This year, the dilapidated studio of textile designer Bernat Klein sold at auction for £279,000 – more than 15 times its guide price – signaling renewed interest in the country's endangered architectural heritage. A comprehensive new book documenting these structures has also been published, highlighting the urgent need to preserve what remains of Scotland's modernist legacy.
Scotland once boasted an impressive collection of modernist architectural treasures. Following World War II, the architectural movement significantly improved living conditions for working-class people across the country. Architects inspired by European modernism transformed the landscape, creating innovative schools, churches, hospitals, private villas like Klein's studio, and even a ski resort. As Bruce Peter writes in "Modernist Scotland," a comprehensive survey of 150 surviving buildings published this month by The Modernist Society, "Scotland was to be re-imagined as a modernist utopia."
By the 1960s, more radical waves of modernism had taken hold, including brutalism influenced by Le Corbusier's revolutionary designs. Scottish modernists who emerged in 1930s Edinburgh – including notable architects Basil Spence, William Kininmonth, Robert Matthew, and Alan Reiach – formed the core group responsible for building everything from single-story, flat-roofed villas in affluent neighborhoods to entire urban developments. Glasgow's new town of Cumbernauld, for instance, was carefully modeled after Nordic modernist principles.
Some of the most remarkable examples of this era included Klein's home in High Sunderland, designed by Scotland-based architect Peter Womersley, which resembled a California Case Study house and was considered one of the finest buildings of its kind. Other standout structures included RMJM's Swedish-inspired Queens College in Dundee and a distinctive domed cafeteria designed by Norwegian émigré Jan Magnus Fladmark, located near the summit of the Cairngorm ski resort.
However, as Scotland fell into economic recession in the late 1970s, publicly owned modernist buildings bore the brunt of urban decline and rising unemployment. While England eventually rekindled its appreciation for the modernist style and granted listed status to many brutalist structures, numerous Scottish examples succumbed to the wrecking ball. Peter attributes this disparity to a fundamental lack of awareness and education among the general public.
"Too many people seem simply not to have been educated to read the environment around them and therefore seem to find it hard to be empathetic," Peter explains. "At one extreme, it manifests in littering, fly-tipping, dirty camping, but it also appears more generally in a lack of appreciation of buildings of all eras." He hopes his comprehensive book will encourage more people to view post-war buildings in a more positive light.
Fortunately, Klein's studio is not the only architectural gem to receive a second chance at preservation. In 2017, Cables Wynd House – the brutalist blocks designed by Alison & Hutchison Partners and known locally as "Banana Flats" – won A-listed status and is currently being renovated by Collective Architecture. This success story demonstrates that public opinion toward these structures can change when their architectural significance is properly recognized.
The biggest challenge, according to Peter, remains Cumbernauld's controversial town center. "It was thought to be very avant-garde in the 1960s, but is very damaged," he notes. "The council wants to flatten it – it's hard for a non-architect to see what it could become. If it were partially demolished, leaving the original core, one could have something completely magnificent." He compares the potential transformation to Patrick Hodgkinson's beloved Brunswick Centre in London, which was successfully renovated by Levitt Bernstein 20 years ago.
If Cumbernauld council fails to recognize the value of its underrated architectural gem and proceeds with complete demolition, Peter warns that people will inevitably regret the loss. The growing interest in Scottish modernist architecture, evidenced by the successful auction of Klein's studio and the publication of comprehensive documentation, suggests that Scotland may finally be ready to embrace and preserve its unique architectural heritage before it's too late.
