The Herald

Passion, PR spin, community indignation and drug- fuelled raves are hardly the usual stuff of architectural reporting. Yet the sorry tale of the protracted demise of the magnificent St Peter's Seminary in Cardross brings together all these unlikely ingredients. When you add to this extraordinary mix the frustrated endeavours of the building's owners, the Archdiocese of Glasgow, to find an appropriate new use for this unique property and, just for good measure, stir in the active participation of vociferous protesters, the local planning authority and Historic Scotland, you have a tale full of sound and fury, which may well signify the death knell of one of Scotland's finest twentieth-century architectural masterpieces. In the years following the Second World War, the Glasgow-based architects Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's achievements in the fields of education, health care and residential design were widely praised. However, it was their churches and other religious projects, particularly for the Glasgow Archdiocese, which placed them firmly at the forefront of contemporary European design and brought plaudits and prizes, including a Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. In St Peter's Seminary the practice created a building which many consider their greatest triumph. This group of modernist buildings, around the historic Kilmahew mansion, was a powerful demonstration of the ability of architecture to transcend utility to create a work which is both powerfully sculptural and somehow serene. The Scottish director, Murray Grigor, recorded the achievement on film – capturing a sublime moment in Scotland's ecclesiastical and architectural history.