GIA CHAPTER REPORT: SPRING 2022
Following a busy end to 2021, the past few months have seen the GIA Council begin to focus their attention the year ahead including preparations for our Annual General Meeting and annual lecture. This year’s Annual General Meeting will be held on 28th of April at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow and marks a welcome return to in-person meetings for our Council and membership! As always, we would be delighted to hear from keen and interested architects and students from across the chapter area who might be interested in joining GIA Council and getting involved in the activities of the institute. This year’s Annual General Meeting shall also be my last as GIA President, and we hope to attract a range of interested candidates to fill the post for the following two-year term.
The Annual General Meeting will be followed by our annual lecture which this year will be given by Patrick Clark of HLM Architects and will cover their GIA award-winning projects for the University of Glasgow Hub building and Lochside House – two projects of markedly contrasting scale that are nonetheless united by a common thread of design principles.
The start of 2022 saw the opening of our delayed Hamilton Mausoleum exhibition at the Hamilton Low Parks Museum. The exhibition features a showcase all of the entries from our Hamilton Mausoleum and Keeper’s Lodge competition, as well as the history of the mausoleum through historic drawings and models. The exhibition will be open for viewing until the end of July and is certainly worth a visit.
Our CPD series, organised by our Practice Committee, recommenced in March and covered various aspects of construction law. Numerous events are planned in the next few months which will focus on a variety of themes as well as covering some of the award-winning projects from last year’s GIA Design Awards.
The Architecture, People & Place Committee has continued to contribute to the Glasgow Urban Design Panel and with the upcoming Council Elections, has been working with the New Glasgow Society to organise a hustings event for politicians to discuss their views on our built environment. The event will take place during the week commencing the 18th of April. Please visit our website in the coming weeks to find out more details.
Following another successful holding of the Alexander Thomson Scholarship in 2021, the entries of which will be published in the upcoming Alexander Thomson Society Journal, our Education Committee has again turned its focus to the organisation of this years GIA Student Awards, including the hosting of our first in-person GIA Student Awards ceremony in three years. As always, we look forward to seeing the incredible work that will be produced by this year’s students who represent the future of our industry.
It has been an enormous honour to have represented the Glasgow Institute of Architects and its membership these past two years during which time I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with a huge range of talented individuals. The past 20 months have been very different from what I had imagined at the time I presented my candidacy for GIA President back in February 2020 and the work of the GIA during these uncharted times would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of those that volunteer their time to sit on GIA Council. I am incredibly grateful for their passion and commitment in spite of the challenges we have faced these past two years, not least the GIA’s Vice-Presidents Shona MacVicar and Andrew Hadden. With the GIA having voted to adopt a new constitution and governance structure this past year, the next President will have the opportunity to shape the trajectory of the GIA for years ahead as it embarks on a new chapter in its history, and I look forward to seeing what direction the GIA will take under their leadership.
Phil Zoechbauer
President GIA