The tension between regional identity and international ‘branding’ is never far from the surface of architectural debate in Scotland, and I touched on the wholly positive influences of climate and materials in a previous article. However, whilst I’m conscious that modern buildings in, say, Norway or the Netherlands have a tangible consistency, the same can’t be said of Scottish architecture beyond the smaller scale.

The distinctiveness of both those countries doesn’t remotely imitate the past, and confidence is self-evident. Moreover, both have a strong design culture, supported by public venues for architectural debate and display. Elsewhere too, architecture centres (or ‘urban rooms’) exist in Copenhagen, Paris, Milan, London, Bristol, and closer to home in Newcastle, whereas Scotland currently has none, following the demise of The Lighthouse in Glasgow.

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