Description
Volume One of the Alexander Thomson Society’s domestic building survey, titled ‘Tenement’.
This is the first in a series of three volumes, the second and third titled ‘Terrace’ and ‘Villa’, respectively, which are also available as a discounted pre-order bundle (see separate shop listing).
Members can receive a 10% discount on the price by entering their coupon code at checkout.
The survey is a catalogue of measured drawings, photographs and information, compiled specifically on external building details of each of Thomson’s tenement building in Glasgow. The first volume includes measured surveys of five Thomson-designed tenement buildings in Glasgow, as well as an appendix featuring information and photographs of eight other tenement properties that are associated with Alexander Thomson. Each of the drawings within the survey has been produced digitally and to scale as the result of on-site measured surveys.
An interesting aspect of the publication is the order in which the building elements have been compiled, arranged by element instead of by building, beginning with the top-most elements (e.g. chimney cans) and down to ground level (e.g. cast-iron railings). This creates an insightful means of comparison and fresh way of studying his designs. The document is easy to navigate, as an overview of each building is included at the beginning that explains the overall building design and where to locate each element survey.
Our Chairman, Mark Baines, has written a wonderful introduction to each of the three volumes that gives an insightful background to the research, which compliments the section that maps the locations of Thomson’s existing buildings. The publication is a high quality soft cover bound book comprising over 100 pages of beautiful images and insightful information on Thomson’s architecture.
