Modernist Delights

Anderston Footbridge, Glasgow, 2025

A pedestrian footbridge with metal railings curves gently through an urban area lined with modern glass buildings and older brick structures under a cloudy, overcast sky. Tall office blocks dominate the background.

A busy multi-lane dual carriageway in a city with cars and vans travelling in both directions. A flyover crosses above, and a modern glass office block stands to the right. To the left is an old brick church. The sky is partly cloudy, and there are some cranes in the background.

Sarah Allen, the head of architecture at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, shared some far more poetic words than I’m capable of, alongside historical pictures of this “bridge to nowhere” from before it was completed, in the RIBA Journal.

Anderston Centre, rear, Glasgow, 2025

A partially abandoned, multi-storey car park with exposed brickwork, overgrown weeds, and graffiti. The car park is next to modern buildings, with a few cars parked below and a “no entry” sign at the entrance. The scene is quiet and urban.

A multi-storey, concrete car park with graffiti on its walls sits alongside modern high-rise buildings. Several parked cars fill the car park. The older, weathered structure contrasts sharply with the new, sleek residential towers in the background.

Energy facility, Glasgow, 2025

A sloped city street with parked cars beside a low, brick building covered in graffiti. Behind it, a tall building is under construction, showing exposed floors. The sky is cloudy, and several modern buildings appear in the background.

A dull, rectangular, concrete building with large, evenly spaced windows, many of which are grimy or covered. A red car is parked on a sloping street in front, and graffiti is visible on the lower windowpanes. The scene appears urban and bleak.

Modernist Tesco, Glasgow, 2025

A Tesco Express shopfront with a white and blue sign is set in a grey, industrial building with large glass windows. Graffiti covers the doors and walls. The pavement in front is empty and the sky above is cloudy.

Glasgow Film Theatre, 2025

A large, brown brick building with art deco features on a street corner. The marquee reads “GFT” in vertical letters. There are traffic lights, a white van, bicycles, and a few people near the entrance. The sky is overcast.

A large red-brick Art Deco building with Christown on a vertical sign above the entrance canopy. Glass doors lead inside. A white van is parked on the street in front, and a grey modern building is visible to the left. Sky is overcast.

More exterior shots are available on the architectureglasgow.co.uk website. The McGinlay Bell architectural practice was responsible for an internal refurbishment, completed in late 2013, and their website features internal shots as well as a wonderful cross-section diagram of the new foyer.

Anderston Centre, Glasgow, 2025

A silver car waits at a corner by a modern urban alleyway. Tall buildings with glass, brick, and concrete façades line the narrow street. Overhead, a raised walkway spans between buildings. Blue sky and clouds are visible above the scene.

Multi-storey, modernist buildings made of concrete and brick stand under a blue sky. A tall residential tower rises in the background, while a lower building with large windows and metal fences/shutters runs alongside a raised walkway in the foreground.

A zigzag-shaped staircase with metal cladding and glass panels juts out from a modern building facade. The structure casts a shadow on the white wall below. Surrounding buildings feature glass windows, dark bricks, and a blue sky overhead.

A brutalist-style concrete building with large rectangular windows, vertical ribbed panels, and weathered dark surfaces. The lower level has yellow brickwork and small square windows. Reflections of another building can be seen in some windows.

A narrow urban street flanked by modern and older concrete buildings. Several parked cars line the left side. In the centre, a low concrete structure stands on a worn pavement. The sky is mostly clear, and the overall scene appears quiet and empty.

A bright sun flares over the rooftop of a brutalist concrete building. The ramp leads up between dark, weathered structures. A tall white residential block is visible in the background against a blue sky with scattered clouds.

A modern multi-storey car park entrance with a sign reading Cadogan Square Car Park. Surrounding the building are tall offices, greenery, and a ramp for vehicles. Orange traffic cones and caution stripes block the entrance. The sky is partly cloudy.

Bourdon Building, Glasgow School of Art, 2025

A steep street with parked cars leads uphill past a modern, concrete building. Pedestrians walk by the THIRD EYE BAR sign on the left. A yellow Diversion sign and scaffolding are on the right. The sky is partly cloudy.

A modern building with large windows and concrete columns, some painted yellow and green. Bicycles are parked against the wall, and a white SUV and a red car are parked on the street in front. The sky is overcast.

Building plans as well as fantastic illustrations by Nebo Peklo are available on the Glasgow City Heritage Trust website.

301 St Vincent Street / Abbey National House, Glasgow, 2025

A large, modern office building with dark glass panels and greenery on upper terraces sits at a street corner. Cars are parked nearby, traffic lights and street signs are visible. A construction crane and unfinished high-rise can be seen in the background.

Originally built as the HQ of Britoil (later BP) in the early 1980’s, and subsequently acquired by Abbey National (later Santander) in 1993, this was once the largest single-occupant building in the UK.

Though not modernist, this is the kind of modern building I enjoy. The darkened glass and brown detailing give it dramatic mood, it fits excellently into the uneven site, and the integrated nature softens it.

A planning application (filled with historical information and imagery, which I am thankful for) was filed in March/April 2024, but when I visited in October 2025, it didn’t appear that any work had taken place. The application is for a full internal refurbishment as well as a new façade with a curtain system providing improved energy performance. If I knew the external appearance was at risk, I’d have taken better pictures, but hey — it might still look the same by the time I return to Glasgow.

McIver House / 1 Cadogan Square, Anderston Centre, Glasgow, 2025

A concrete building with a Brutalist architectural style, featuring rectangular grid-like windows framed by thick concrete supports. The upper floors have evenly spaced windows, whilst the lower level has larger glass panels. Blue sky with clouds above.

Glasgow Central Station, 2025

Steel beams criss-cross under a large glass roof, forming a geometric pattern. The blue sky is visible through the glass panels, and sunlight casts shadows across the industrial metal framework, suggesting a spacious, open interior.

Gets off the train; immediately becomes entranced by steel beams.

Modernist Delights is a blog about modernist and brutalist architecture. Find out more.