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This case study is based on the pilot phase of the Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches project, which provides a detailed assessment of the medieval fabric of 105 of the c.1,136 parish churches of pre-Reformation foundation in Scotland. Carried out in 2008-09 with funding from AHRC, it focused on the dioceses of Dunkeld and Dunblane. The Corpus has been invaluable in broadening knowledge of the buildings, and hence informing the decision-making processes of a wide range of bodies and individuals involved in preserving Scotland's medieval architecture. These include, amongst others: the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Historic Scotland; national and local societies from the Royal Archaeological Institute to the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust; and professionals called to work on the buildings.
The Secret Lives of Buildings, a book by Edward Hollis about famous buildings that `went wrong', has achieved both literary acclaim and a readership in five languages worldwide. The chief insights of the book — that buildings, like stories, are ephemeral things, passed from generation to generation — have been used by an AHRC-funded research network, The Invisible College, to change attitudes towards, and policy about, the fate of one of Scotland's most controversial modern buildings: St Peter's Seminary in Cardross. Working with stakeholders from government to the local community, the College has set a new precedent for the incremental and sustainable reuse of abandoned sites in Scotland.
Campbell's research on Basil Spence has delivered a reassessment of the work and significance of one of Britain's most important post-war architects after nearly three decades of critical neglect. The impacts include informing the strategies of Historic Scotland and English Heritage for listing and conserving historic buildings; and increasing public knowledge and appreciation of Spence's contribution to modern British architecture. These impacts have been delivered to research users — the heritage sector, managers and users of Spence's buildings, and the general public — via public engagement activities which comprised a touring exhibition, public lectures, workshops and non-academic conferences; popular publications; and advice to heritage organisations.
Impacts: I) Enhanced public engagement with Scotland's cartographic heritage. II) Enhanced cross-sector collaboration around the use and digital delivery of historical maps.
Significance and reach: A major synthesis of Scotland's map history sold >8,000 copies between publication in 2011 and April 2013 and was named `Scottish Research Book of the Year' by the Saltire Society (2012). Three online map collections experienced 2008 — June 2013 access levels >50% higher than those for pre-2008. The newsletter of the Scottish Maps Forum (launched 2008), reached 553 individual subscribers and 117 institutional subscribers (January 2013).
Underpinned by: Research into the mapping of Scotland from the late sixteenth century, undertaken at the University of Edinburgh (1996 onwards).
Pioneering research, from 1995, at the Advanced Concrete and Masonry Centre into the mechanical and compositional properties of traditional mortars and roofing slate improved applied analysis and material sourcing in relation to the conservation of historic buildings. Authoritative guidance on the analysis of historic mortars and the specification of their replacements, based on UWS research, had an international impact, seeing incorporation into ASTM and CEN standards, and contributed to the development of a commercial Hydraulic Lime. A research network on climate change impacts in the historic environment influenced Historic Scotland policy for sustainability and materials research.
Research into publishing at the Scottish Centre for the Book (SCOB) based at Edinburgh Napier University has examined the strategic development of publishing in Scotland and, in a significant expansion of this work, its nature within small nations and national regions. This established a new perspective for a field that had hitherto focussed on the UK or transnational, and fed into public policy and the operations of publishing companies within Scotland. SCOB, in partnership with public and private bodies, has raised awareness and understanding of the nature, role and value of publishing in Scotland among government, policy-makers and the public.
The historically accurate restoration of six Stirling Castle Palace apartments and replication of the Stirling Heads by Sally Rush of the University of Glasgow has transformed academic and curatorial understanding of how the Palace looked and functioned and enhanced popular understanding of life at the royal court. A £12 million restoration has brought to life one of Britain's most architecturally complete Renaissance buildings — Stirling Castle Palace — securing its position as a prime educational and tourist attraction — voted the UK's top heritage attraction in a 2012 Which? survey and in Europe's top 40 `amazing experiences' in the July 2013 Lonely Planet guide. Visitor numbers increased by 17% and annual revenue by £1M in the year after the reopening of the Palace.
The focus of the research in question has been to establish how far the architectural and urban culture of Scotland before the Union in 1707 was `European' and the consequences for Scotland's architecture after 1707 within the UK, including the issue of its assimilation with that of the rest of Britain. Initially the work, beginning in the later 1990s, concentrated on particular Scottish cities, notably Dundee and Edinburgh, more recently widening to include a large sample of Scotland's other smaller towns. The impact of what is a major body of diverse but inter-related research (at the heart of which are buildings and the built environment) is demonstrated at several levels, through local dissemination and community engagement, through to changing public discourse at national level about much of Scotland's architectural heritage and its implications for today. This has been achieved through the role of the lead researcher (Charles McKean) in major advisory bodies, as chairman of Edinburgh World Heritage Trust (2006-2012) to the Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland, and on the Scottish Committee of the Heritage Lottery Fund (Section 5: 1,2,3,4,5 and 8).
Architectural history at Queens has not only critically influenced decision-makers in Northern Ireland over a long period, but also helped to develop a notion of shared ownership of the region within the extant divisions in the contested landscape of Northern Ireland. Architectural Heritage is usually seen as conservative and restricting in its impact, but within the divided communities of Northern Ireland, the discovery and contextualisation of the built environment has created a shared sense of place in a landscape ravaged by civil strife.
This is evidenced particularly in respect of impact on practitioners and professional services; public policy, law and services; and the environment particularly:
the statutory listing of historic buildings the designation of conservation areas by government, work with professional bodies eg Royal Society of Ulster Architects work with voluntary/community organisations such as Ulster Architectural Heritage Society.
Through the research on the history and development of architecture in Ireland, the University can demonstrate a very significant impact on both Northern Ireland's built environment, and that of the Republic of Ireland. This body of research has provided valuable support to specialist users, including the architectural profession and planning authorities, as well as providing a source of reference for historical societies and amenity groups seeking to shape our environment, and a major source of information for the wider public.
The Scottish Ten is an ambitious five-year project using cutting edge technology to create exceptionally accurate digital models of Scotland's five UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites (WHS) and five other international heritage sites in order to better conserve and manage them. It has had global impact in terms of both its outputs and the process of research activity including forging intellectual and diplomatic links with our international partners, increasing access to digital surrogates of heritage sites, raising awareness of technological approaches to conservation of world heritage, and contributing to the policies of major heritage organisations across the world.