Fury over Gorbals tribute to man who designed 'Alcatraz'

Wednesday 16 January 2008

Fury over Gorbals tribute to man who designed 'Alcatraz'

AN exhibition paying tribute to the man who designed the notorious Hutchesontown C block has opened in the Gorbals - and has been slammed by a former city councillor.

The exhibition is marking the centenary of architect Sir Basil Spence's birth.

But Jimmy Mutter, who was councillor for the Gorbals for 23 years, said local people do not want to be reminded of Sir Basil. Mr Mutter said: "I think most people will want to forget their time in the tower blocks. "They have all got their new houses now and will be glad to be out of there. "I am surprised the exhibition is coming here. Maybe it should because the blocks were here. "But it was a disaster from the early days - it was a big grey block that was an eyesore and quickly became known as Alcatraz. "At the time the flats went up they were quite good, but they quickly deteriorated. When we held a big meeting to decide if they should be demolished, it was more or less unanimous in favour of them coming down." The exhibition, Sir Basil Spence - Celebration Of A Modern Architect, is at the Gorbals Library. The architect's post-war designs were initially loved by 60s families, but soon became hated after deteriorating into slums. The show has just completed a run at Glasgow Airport - which he also designed - and will be in the Gorbals until February 10. It will move to the Mitchell Library on February 13. It includes designs and drawings from Sir Basil's archive and workshop material gathered by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and The Lighthouse in Glasgow. Gorbals Library is open Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm, Sat, 9am-5pm, Sun, noon-5pm.

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