Beschrijving

This is the first full biography of two of Scotland’s most eminent Architects, James Miller and John James Burnet.

Born just three years apart into very different circumstances, their careers and lives became intertwined as they competed for work and eventually the role of Scotland’s leading architect. Born in 1857 and 1860 respectively, one inherited and the other established successful practices in Glasgow at the zenith of that city’s wealth in the late 19th century.

John James Burnet produced many of the city’s finest buildings. These include The Athenaeum on Buchanan Street; Charing Cross Mansions; numerous city-centre commercial buildings such as Waterloo Chambers and Atlantic Chambers and the Townhouses on University Avenue. After moving to London, his work included the extension of the British Museum, The Daily Telegraph Building on Fleet Street and Adelaide House by London Bridge.

James Miller is Scotland’s most prolific architect. His most high-profile designs include: The Empire Exhibition of 1901, Glasgow Central Station, Wemyss Bay Station, Turnberry Hotel, Gleneagles Hotel, the interiors of the SS Lusitania and SS Aquitania, Hampden Park, Forteviot Model Village, and the Institution of Civil Engineers in Westminster. Despite his extraordinary output and his considerable architectural contribution to Scotland’s heritage, he has received relatively little acclaim, until now.

This is a fascinating double biography, the story of Burnet and Miller’s parallel lives and work, set against the background of the booming Empire’s ‘Second City’.