Reading in the Scotsman this week that RMJM have gone under. I kinda already knew it, Glasgow architecture is not a big scene after all, even if I am on the other side of the world. It just felt nice to be reading about stuff and people that I know.
To give you an overview, RMJM where a Scottish firm that once counted the Falkirk Wheel and the Scottish parliament as its achievements. More recently it was counting the number of offices it had as it's measure of achievement and inevitably could not keep up the see-saw effect of thinly spread, booming and failing locations for very long.
Even in a steady economic climate, the decent down the slimey slope of bizarre top end decisions, and general disagreement all down the line about the workings with in the company would spell disaster. The one that caught the most media attention was when disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin was put on the books to try and drum up business over seas?
All levels of workers and clients began walking as early as 2010 over failure to pay and poor management. In 3 years almost all of the international offices have closed, just as quickly as they opened and now it seems they are on the out for the count.
I'm watching to see if this once daddy of Scottish architecture make it back. There's a chance here for some great architects to take the broken chew toy of Fraser and Peter Morrison, show some humility and get back to producing great Scottish architecture. Or maybe I'm being too optimistic.
To give you an overview, RMJM where a Scottish firm that once counted the Falkirk Wheel and the Scottish parliament as its achievements. More recently it was counting the number of offices it had as it's measure of achievement and inevitably could not keep up the see-saw effect of thinly spread, booming and failing locations for very long.
Even in a steady economic climate, the decent down the slimey slope of bizarre top end decisions, and general disagreement all down the line about the workings with in the company would spell disaster. The one that caught the most media attention was when disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Fred Goodwin was put on the books to try and drum up business over seas?
All levels of workers and clients began walking as early as 2010 over failure to pay and poor management. In 3 years almost all of the international offices have closed, just as quickly as they opened and now it seems they are on the out for the count.
I'm watching to see if this once daddy of Scottish architecture make it back. There's a chance here for some great architects to take the broken chew toy of Fraser and Peter Morrison, show some humility and get back to producing great Scottish architecture. Or maybe I'm being too optimistic.
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