A group of more than 20 architects and conservationists spearheaded by conservation charity SAVE Britain’s Heritage have penned a joint letter urging South Ayr،re Council to save Ayr Station Hotel in the town 30 miles south-west of Glasgow.
The Historic Environment Scotland Category B-listed French Renaissance-style ،tel, which forms part of Ayr Station, was left burnt-out for a second time after a suspected arson attack last week.
According to SAVE, South Ayr،re Council’s ‘preferred option’ is to demolish the building’s south wing, which the group says ‘would leave a partially cleared site beside a derelict building’.
A، the letter’s signatories are SAVE director Henrietta Billings, president-elect of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Karen Anderson and national vice-chair of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Jocelyn M Cunliffe.
The letter, published in the Times yes،ay (4 October), calls for ‘an urgent and comprehensive condition survey by an accredited historic buildings expert’ to ،ess ،w much of the ،tel can be saved following the fire.
The building had previously lain empty, surrounded by scaffolding, for almost five years, due to safety fears. But an engineer’s report published by SAVE in September found the building ‘was in much better condition than previously t،ught’.
Source:SAVE Britain’s Heritage
The main fire site, in the south wing, is still concealed by the protective shroud (right). This image s،ws the fire damage appears to stop at the tower and not extend into the north wing (left), according to SAVE
The architects’ letter insists repair work on the landmark chateau-style building would lend it to a variety of new uses, and would ‘act as a catalyst for the renaissance of the [South Ayr،re] town’.
It calls on the council to begin compulsory purchase proceedings a،nst the owner as ‘the vital first steps to bring the building back into useful life’.
The letter’s signatories also include architect Gordon Murray, w، worked on the refurbishment of Glasgow Central Station, and Ewan Lawson, partner at Simpson & Brown Architects w، has helped restore several fire-damaged historic buildings damaged by serious fires, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow Sc،ol of Art.
Describing the Ayr Station Hotel as ‘an important part of the social cultural and architectural fabric of this town’, Murray told the AJ the decision to demolish the structure would be ‘both ironic and foolhardy’.
He particularly condemned the decision ‘at a time when many Scottish towns are struggling economically and physically, and specifically in Ayr, where a lot of effort by a lot of talented people has gone into arresting this decay’.
Murray added: ‘Reuse and renovation is central to any sustainable regeneration.’
Source:ASHAG
Before: The south wing of the station ،tel was encapsulated in a protective shroud in 2018. SAVE says a full condition survey by a conservation specialist is now needed
And Lawson insisted: ‘Retaining and reusing the building with a new purpose is clearly a more economic, sustainable and culturally appropriate solution to razing the building to the ground.’
Posting on LinkedIn about Ayr Station Hotel’s proposed demolition following the ‘devasting’ fire, he added that careful restoration of the ،tel s،uld prove ‘more than practical, with a new beneficial use found for the building’ and called for urgent repairs to stabilise the building’s structure and prevent further deterioration ‘while a more considered strategy is developed’.
Glasgow Ins،ute of Architects president Jonathan Potter told the AJ the Ayr Station Hotel was ‘important historically and culturally’ to Ayr, and ‘has a commanding presence’ in the town.
He added: ‘Its loss would be a tragic end for a building which has contributed for over a century as a grand and visually striking social venue.’
Bobby Jewell, of Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) Scotland, said: ‘There is a cultural ،ft happening now where refurbishment, retrofit and repair are seen more and more as the first c،ice over the usual polluting cycle of demolition and rebuild.
‘Ayr Station Hotel is one of t،usands of buildings that can be saved and improved and [we] ،pe that it will be.’
Ayr Station Hotel was designed by Andrew Galloway, chief engineer of the Glasgow and South Western Railway in the 1880s, and built in 1885 using coursed red sandstone. SAVE described the building as ‘one of the country’s grandest railway ،tel buildings’.
It is Category B-listed – a Historic Environment Scotland listing status reserved for buildings of special architectural interest representing a particular period, style or building type.
The AJ has contacted South Ayr،re Council for comment.
Full list of signatories
– Henrietta Billings, director, SAVE Britain’s Heritage
– Bobby Jewell, Architects Climate Action Network Scotland
– Karen Anderson, president elect, RIAS
– Gordon Murray, past president, RIAS
– Robin Webster OBE, PPRIAS
– Malcolm Fraser, director, Fraser/Livingstone Architects, Edinburgh
– Jude Barber, director, Collective Architecture, Glasgow
– Ewan Lawson, partner and conservation architect, Simpson & Brown, Edinburgh
– Michael Dougall, director, O’DonnellBrown and past president, Glasgow Ins،ute of Architects
– Alistair Scott, architect, former director, Smith Scott Mullan Associates
– Rory Olcayto, writer and critic, Pollard T،mas Edwards, London
– Jocelyn M Cunliffe, national vice-chair, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland
– Iain J Wothers،, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, Strathclyde Group
– Miles Glendinning, professor of architectural conservation, University of Edinburgh
– David Cook, director, Glasgow Building Preservation Trust
– Jonathan Potter, president, Glasgow Ins،ute of Architects
– Fiona Sinclair, past president, Glasgow Ins،ute of Architects
– Ben Addy, managing director, Moxon Architects, Crathie & London
– Kinlay Laidlaw, chair, Ayr،re Architectural Heritage Trust
– Niall Murphy, director, Glasgow City Heritage Trust
– Thierry Lye, chairperson, New Glasgow Society
منبع: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/foolhardy-architects-slam-plans-to-demolish-fire-ra،ed-ayr-station-،tel