16/12/05

Scotland's best post war building desecrated
Altar at Gillespie Kidd and Coia priest college vandalised

Vandalism at St Peter's College has reached a new peak. The building's architectural focus, the altar, has been attacked and damaged. St Peter's has been empty and left to decay for two decades. Its owner, the Archdiocese of Glasgow, have failed to secure the building. Historic Scotland and the local authority Argyll and Bute, charged with the protection of listed buildings, have so far not enforced its maintenance and repair.

After a number of failed demolition and conversion schemes St Peter's is at the heart of the most controversial debate about C20 conservation in Scotland.

The building by Gillespie Kidd and Coia is Category A listed and is generally regarded to be the best post war building in Scotland. It has never been the subject of an architectural competition, despite its importance and the huge interest it has created with the architectural profession and property developers.

If St Peter's is not protected from vandalism, it might very soon be too late to think about reuse. Those charged with its preservation must act now to prevent the loss of a true masterpiece.

For further information please contact:

Cordula Zeidler, Caseworker,
The Twentieth Century Society, 020 7250 3857

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