Departed

At the start of the Oscar winning film ‘The Departed’, directed by Martin Scorsese, the Frank Costello character played by Jack Nicholson says:

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”

I doubt whether Scorsese was trying to portray Frank Costello as a gangster with a keen interest in the place making agendas of South Boston. What he was doing was making a strong connection between the place people live in and who they are – and vice versa.

It is this conversation between people and places that helps create the nature of both. Martin Scorsese recognised that working on one without the other will always create unconvincing stories.

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The World Stage

The new Glasgow School of Art building by Stephen Holl and JM Architects is a building of real significance to the School, to Garnethill, to Glasgow, and to Scotland.

It’s rare that we dare to recognise that a building is being built on the world stage. And when we do we are uncharacteristically unembarrassed to be passionate and excited about the possibilities. It’s a good feeling for a designer to see people so engaged about design.

This is a great reminder of the power of buildings to change, or nurture, the narrative of a place. It’s a massive responsibility and an amazing opportunity. Great art makes you think differently. Once-in-a-century buildings do the same. Perhaps we need to look again at what we do every day as ‘a massive responsibiity and an amazing opportunity’.

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