First of all, I'm not standing here defending Glasgow City Council's architectural policy. Without getting in a sperate discussion, the demolition of the Elgin Place church - when the portico at least was perfectly salvageable, was a crime. And yes, it is a tragedy that no architect is involved in the design of the replacement building*, but then that would be a tragedy wherever that happened.
Ok this one wasnt one of his better buildings
No. Take a look at the photos from the first page of this thread, then look at, say, any of his other buildings.
there is so little of his work left due to the negligence of previous generations and you have a solid case for preservation.
Is there? Because, somewhere in the building, there were slight traces of genius? We can't make up for past losses by preserving something else, of less merit. Let me make it clear - Thomson is one my favourite architects. I think the nickname "Greek" is almost a shame, as it seems to label his as a mere neoclassical architect, when he created works with so much more thought to them than that.
The condition of many of his buildings is shocking. And something can be done. Even the Caledonia Road church may be beyond saving as he designed it, but an imaginative architect could save what's left and convert it into something new and exciting.
In this case, his offices had been left to rot, and were no longer stable or useable. A failing of the system, perhaps, but that was the case. And ask yourselves - had that building been by someone else, exactly the same as it was, with no name recognition, would you really care? Would this thread have so many replies? Was it really of the same value as
Edinburgh Castle?
As for the Wolfson Medical building - what's the relevance of that? It was designed by a Reiach and Hall, a leading Scottish firm. It's won many awards. Personally I think it's quite stunning from the outside. I haven't been in, but apparently it's a lovely building to be in. And I'm not sure, but it was it not a brownfield site prior to it's building?
* Genuine question: who designs a building if not an architect then?