June 2009 Recap [GlasgowUniPhoto.com]
The first month of the Glasgow University Photo Blog (GlasgowUniPhoto.com) has now passed. The following thumbnails will take you back through all 30 of the photos from June 2009.
![University Library from University Avenue [Library Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3376/3550037229_eb46838ef5_s.jpg)
![Old Books [Library Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3623/3550045541_847360910d_s.jpg)
![Library Annexe [Library Week]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3562008700_42c5149320_s.jpg)
![Greek Testament [Library Week]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2433/3550080105_4586c5f775_s.jpg)
![Politics Section [Library Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3376/3562007572_4c3ed97daa_s.jpg)
![Soviet Studies [Library Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3370/3562016624_8ba72557e5_s.jpg)
![University Library in the Winter [Library Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3550872530_9a65cd058c_s.jpg)
And with that we move on towards July 2009. You can always find each month’s photos in one place in the Archives.
Main Building and The Square
The buildings you see to the left and the right make up a part of The Square (formerly The Professors’ Square). The aforementioned buildings used to house, as you may guess by the name, the residences of the professors, with the last one moving out as late as the 1980s. The building on the right is the Stair Building, which houses the School of Law, and the building on the left, addressed as 1-4 The Square, houses various administration offices and services.
Dead centre in the photo is the north-west corner of the Main Building, of which I’ll post pictures of for this entire coming week.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
University Tower
Yup, it’s the University Tower once again, this time from up close. The shots from a distance don’t give much testament to its actual size.
Well, neither does this shot, but atleast it’s taken from the foot of the tower, as opposed to hundreds of meters away.
If you want a hands-on take on the actual size of the tower, you have to get to the top ledge to the sightseeing deck. (I don’t think it’s actually referred to as a sightseeing deck, but it’s the highest point where visitors can go, so I’ll keep calling it that until someone corrects me.)
You wanna get up to the top of the tower? Ooh, that’s a bit tricky. See, the tower was built to the safety standards of 1871, so there are very limited opportunities to get up there. I managed to get up to the top during Freshers’ Week, and I’m planning on getting up there again this Freshers’ Week (especially because I now have a better camera than a year ago.)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
University Library in the Winter [Library Week]
And thus we finish the inaugural theme week with a winter’s scene of the Library. I plan on holding a Library-themed week several times a year, during which I plan on going exploring around the library and especially the Special Collections on the 12th floor, so there will definitely be more treasures from the library.
Oh, don’t let the above shot fool you. Glasgow is not known for its white winters. But, when (if) it does snow it provides for a nice alternate reality of the dark soot-covered brickwork of the Victorian tenements and the brutalist 1960s architectural wonders. (I say that with affection, ok?)
So, tomorrow it’s back to business as usual, with random visuals and factoids from the University of Glasgow. The next theme week will come in just a few short weeks, with Museum Week planned for sometime in July. I would appreciate any feedback about the concept and execution of this past theme week, and any tips, hints and suggestions, even criticisms would be very welcome! Just drop me a line in the comments below any post or via the comment form.
If you would like to participate in the next Library Week with a library from your school or city, check the Library Week page for more information.
As we end the very first Theme Week and say buh-bye to the library, for now, I’ll end with reminding you that the Main Library of the University of Glasgow is not the only library on campus, as you’ll also find:
- Adam Smith Library (Social Sciences or Psychology, located in the Adam Smith Building)
- Chemistry Branch Library (Chemisty, located on Level 5 of the Joseph Black Building)
- James Herriot Library (Veterinary Science, located at the Garscube Estate a few miles north-west of Hillhead)
- James Ireland Library (Dentistry, located on 378 Sauchiehall Street)
- Law Workshop (Law, located in the basement of the Stair Building in University Square)
- Language Centre Library (Located in the Hetherington Building)
In addition to all this, the Mitchell Library, the largest public reference library in Europe, sits just a mere mile or so away from the University, just by the M8 and the beginning of the city centre.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 28th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Soviet Studies [Library Week]
As mentioned yesterday, the Soviet Studies section at the Glasgow University Library is HUGE! (.gif file here, in new window) Especially considering the amount of volumes largely outnumbers the amount of Politics volumes, and by quite a bit, I’ve always wondered why the collection is so vast.
I may have found a partial answer with some digging, and the answer is donations, from three specific people in particular: Louis Sinclair, the widow of Isaac Deutscher, and Rudolf Schlesinger.
Sinclair donated an extensive collection of works by and about Trostky in numerous languages. Deutscher was Trotsky’s biographer, and Schlesinger was a co-founder of the University’s Institute of Soviet and East European Studies.
If Communism and Socialism are your interests, or you like to dabble in Soviet History, the Glasgow University Library has a, well, an extensive and overwhelming collection of many original works.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 28th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Politics Section [Library Week]
![Politics Section [Library Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3376/3562007572_4c3ed97daa.jpg)
This little corner on the 6th floor of the Library Annexe is where I spend a significant amount of time whilst at the Library. As a Politics student, naturally much of my books and materials can be found right here, on the 6th floor annexe of the University Library, as well as at the Adam Smith Library in the Adam Smith Building (makes sense, doesn’t it?). Now, even with that, what you see in the picture is roughly about half the Politics materials, with the rest being in the Adam Smith Library and in the Short Loan section on the 2nd floor of the main library building. The wall at the very end of the picture is the Anthropology section. If you turn left at the Anthropology section, you get the Soviet/Slavonic Studies section, which is, well, HUGE! Take a look at the floor plan of this particular floor of the Library Annexe (.gif file here, in new window) and you’ll see what I mean with HUGE.
Now, why would a University in Glasgow, Scotland have an excessive Soviet Studies section? I’ll try to answer that question tomorrow.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 28th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Greek Testament [Library Week]
Although my studies are limited to Social Sciences, I have gone wondering around the library a few times just for kicks, or to follow my fiancée around while she’s looking for her essay materials. I found this on the tenth floor of the library, in the Theology section. From what I can tell, it dates back to the mid-1800s by Henry Alford and is the fourth volume out of four.
As the University has an ecclesiastical foundation (or, in other words, a theological or church-based beginning), there are many religious and theological volumes to be found, many dating back several hundred years (and can be found in the Special Collections on the 12th floor). The church-based roots are evident as the University itself was founded by a Papal Bull (an official letter of communication from the Pope) issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1451, and the first years of the University were spent in a charter house at the Glasgow Cathedral. The University Library dates back to 1475 when the first donations by the University’s Chancellor, Bishop John Laing, were recorded.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 28th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Library Annexe [Library Week]
The above shot is from the Library Annexe, the extra little bit on the northern side of the Library which was built in the 1980s. Why have I shown you the inside and not the outside? Well, it’s not that pretty from the outside, I’ll tell you that much. I will one day post a good picture of the northern facade of the Library, when I get a good shot of it. (I have tried. It has to either be an early morning shot (6am, when the sun is rising), or a carefully framed and timed night shot. This particular shot is from the Level 5 Annexe, where the Life Sciences materials are based. If you look carefully, I made the amateur mistake of being caught in the reflection in the window.
It’s Day 3 of Library Week, the very first Theme Week, and today we’ll be blurting out facts and figures. Statistics, really. (Don’t worry, there’s no math involved here, especially not calculus.) I’m going to describe the University in terms of mainly figures, in (severely abbreviated) bullet-point form:
- The first explicit mention of a library at the University is from November 1475.
- From 1871 situated in the Main Building on Gilmorehill.
- Moved to new purpose-built building in 1968.
- Roughly 20,000 volumes by 1791
- Around 126,000 volumes by 1891
- Currently holds over 2.5 million books and journals.
- Access to over 30,000 electronic journals.
- The Special Collections contains more than 300,000 manuscript items and around 200,000 printed works.
- Around 800 Computers for student use, with wi-fi throughout the building.
- Study space for over 2,500 students.
- 1,429,494 visits were made to the Library in 2006-2007 (Source: PDF)
- Library homepage visits: 1,266,623 visits. (Source: PDF)
- Over 200 daytime, night and weekend members of staff.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 28th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Old Books [Library Week]
There’s a certain appeal to old books. Maybe it’s the mustry smell, or the worn leather binding, or the longetivity of the information within, no matter how out of date it is. It could be the small trip back in time to another era when people believed something which has since been proved false or utterly ludicrous, such as the sun orbiting the Earth.
Unlike your modern public library, which are packed with copies of the latest John Grisham thrillers and novels which only the most bored would ever pick up and read, University libraries have the benefit of containing books from over the decades and centuries. They come from acquitisions from private collections and donations from churches. Right next to a book on the laws of Plato from the early 1900s sits a modern interpretation of the same subject from just a decade back.
The above books are from the Glasgow University Library. I took this shot during my very first adventure into said library, so I can’t recall which floor or department I found them in. I think they contain something about insects. Beats me.
The Library itself is divided into 12 floors, 11 of which are accessible to all students and staff. Level 1 is closed as it contains the library stack where older material no longer in high demand is kept. Level 2, where one enters the library from, contains most of the services of the Library, including the info desk, short loan, and lending services. Level 3 contains general reference material and student PCs and printers and copy machines. Level 4-11 mostly contain the loanable materials from most Departments. Level 12 contains the Special Collections (basically the really old and really rare materials.)
That might seem like an oversimplifaction of the contents of the massive library. That’s because it is. You can find all the floor plans on the Library website. I personally have never stepped foot on Levels 1, 4, 7, 9, 11 and 12, mainly because my subjects can be found on Levels 6 and 8 and in short loan on Level 2. I’ve only been as far up as Level 10 and the view from there was fantastic. The next time I hold Library Week here I might have to go exploring through more floors for hidden treasure and fantastic views from the top.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 28th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
University Library from University Avenue [Library Week]
To answer the question asked yesterday, why students would be around the Main Building and its surroundings after 1am, the simple answer is the University Library, which is open 361 days a year, from 7:15m to 2:00am. A large number students usually file out of the library once 2am approaches, eyes adjusting to the dark after hours of sitting by a computer monitor and/or digesting academic books, slightly jittery from all the caffeine consumed.
With that, I introduce the very first Theme Week here at the Glasgow University Photo blog, Library Week. Every day this week I will show you aspects and findings from the library, together with little factoids and such. The idea of this Theme Week is to take a closer look inside a particular building or aspect of University Life. As it’s summer and the academic year is not in session, I though it would be fitting to kick of the Themes with books and such. This decision might have had something to do with the pile Political Philosophy books on my desk, my summer reading. =)
As you saw on June 2nd, and as you can see even better here, the Glasgow University Library is a very large and imposing building. Modern and striking when it opened its doors on September 30th 1968, it seems more was spent on outside appearance than on the inside. The building complex itself was built in three stages: the main structure (1968), the Hunterian Art Gallery (1978), and a northern extension to the Library (1980s). The top floor, the 12th floor which houses the Special Collections, was opened in 1997.
In researching the Library on the net, I came across a good example of how one should take everything on Wikipedia with a grain of salt. The entry for the Glasgow University Library has this unsourced sentence within it:
The old Library closed in July 1968 and the new building opened to readers on 30th September 1968, gaining its title as the largest building in the world. (Emphasis mine)
Interesting. This naturally launched me off on a curiosity-fueled trek through many corners of ze web in search of anything that would support or contradict this claim. The result? Nothing. The only thing of note that happened in the world on September 30th 1968 was the unveiling of the prototype of the Boeing 747, coincidentally from the largest purpose built factory in the world (Boeing’s Everett Factory). So, true or false? You tell me.
To complement Library Week, we take a step back in time to the 1960s, when the current University Library was built on Gilmorehill. In September 2008 the Special Collections Department of the Library celebrated the 40th anniversary of the current building with a photographic look back at the construction of the building. It provides an interesting look at the then and now, and the transformation of the area in the 1960s. You can check out the photo essay here.
And no, I don’t know why the red man on the traffic lights is crooked.
This post is a part of Library Week (June 22nd – 29th)
Don’t forget to visit the Library website, their Flickr account, and their blog.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Gloomy Irn-Bru Night
An Irn-Bru night sky and the smell of yeast from the breweries. Welcome to Glasgow.
(Irn-Bru is an orange carbonated soft drink from Glasgow, and is one of the most popular drinks in Scotland.)
Sometimes sunlight and blue skies don’t tell the whole story.
Sometimes majestic floodlit buildings don’t tell the whole story.
Sometimes you need to switch off the floodlights and let the night and buildings speak for themselves.
Taken during the beginning of spring in mid-April, this shot shows what night looks like around Glasgow University when the lights go off for the night. The central point of this photo, the University Tower, has the floodlights switched off at 1am every night. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that most of the Main Building is still bathed in light. This late night doom and gloom look contrasts vastly with the same viewin sunlight or when lit up.
Besides walking home from one of the student unions after a night of carousing (def: to engage in a drunken revel), what other reason would students have to be around the Main Building after 1am?
I will give you the answer tomorrow. The answer will also be the focus of the entire next week.
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
Liquid Nitrogen
And now it’s time for something different. Most of the buildings featured within have been grand buildings from either the late 19th century or brutalist concrete blocks from the expansion of the 1960s, with a dash of brand new glass and steel buildings such as the Wolfson Medical School Building. Today we switch to detailing and abstract views. What you see in front of you is a series of tubes. It’s not the internet that flows through these tubes, but rather liquid nitrogen.
This contraption is located outside the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre (JWNC), located at the eastern side of the Main Building, between the James Watt North Building and the James Watt South Building. The centre is a part of the Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering at Glasgow University. I’ll admit I have NO CLUE what is hidden within the JWNC, nor what nanofabrication really is. I attempted to do some research, but ended up falling asleep whilst reading it, and I still do not understand diddly about it all. So, to counter this conundrum, I will post a few quotes from various sources to better explain the JWNC and nanofabrication:
The James Watt Nanofabrication Centre (JWNC):
… boasts an impressive array of equipment and capabilities: large area, high resolution, immensely versatile e-beam Vistec VB6, metal and dielectric sputtering using RF and DC magnetrons; mask aligning (with double sided capability); flip-chip bonding; nano-scale embossing; high resolution SEM and ATM; atomic force microscopy; surface profilometry; plasma deposition; and reactive ion etching. Metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor technology is an important area of expertise.
—Small Times (March 28th, 2007)
And nanofabrication is:
…the design and manufacture of devices with dimensions measured in nanometers. One nanometer is 10 -9 meter, or a millionth of a millimeter.
Nanofabrication is of interest to computer engineers because it opens the door to super-high-density microprocessors and memory chips. It has been suggested that each data bit could be stored in a single atom . Carrying this further, a single atom might even be able to represent a byte or word of data. Nanofabrication has also caught the attention of the medical industry, the military, and the aerospace industry.
There are several ways that nanofabrication might be done. One method involves scaling down integrated-circuit fabrication that has been standard since the 1970s, removing one atom at a time until the desired structure emerges. A more sophisticated hypothetical scheme involves the assembly of a chip atom-by-atom; this would resemble bricklaying. An extension of this is the notion that a chip might assemble itself atom-by-atom using programmable nanomachines. Finally, it has been suggested that a so-called biochip might be grown like a plant from a seed; the components would form by a process resembling cell division in living things.
—What Is?com
That explains everything! Oh wait, no it doesn’t. I have to some how get myself inside the centre to photograph and find out more about it. This is a clear demonstration of how much there is on offer at Universities which
For more information on the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre, you can visit the following links:
(If you didn’t get the “series of tubes” reference, just Google “series of tubes”, and you’ll understand.)
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
Smi h On The Memorial Gates
They don’t make them T’s like they used to…
This shot is from the Memorial Gates which stand next to the John McIntyre Building on University Avenue, just across the street from the Round Reading Room. If you go back to the very first shot featured in this photo blog, well, you won’t see it, but you’ll see where the Memorial Gates are situated, as the initial photo of the Main Building is cropped just so that the Memorial Gates would be at the very bottom of the shot.
The Memorial Gates were installed in 1951 to mark the first 500 years of the University of Glasgow and is adorned with the names of some of the most outstanding and influential figures connected with the University thoughout its 500+ year history. Some notable names include Adam Smith, James Watt, Joseph Lister, and King James II.
Currently the gates hold 30 names, with extra space for another 10 names. If you’d like to see who the 30 names on the Gates are, there is an interactive image of the gate on the University website on the University Story page.
The “Smi(t)h” in the above photo refers to John Smith, the former leader of the Labour Party (1992-1994) and a graduate of Glasgow University. Smith’s name was added to the Memorial Gates in 2001 during the University’s 550th year celebrations, along with Donald Dewar’s name. Smith and Dewar are pretty simple to find on the Memorial Gates as for some obscure reason they were made in a different font from the other names on the gate.
Not only are the names Dewar and Smith written in a different font from the other 28 names on the two doors of the gate, they are also the two in the worst condition, even though they only date back to 2001, whereas the other names date back to 1951.
They just don’t make them like they used to…
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
St Kentgernus
One of the most rewarding lessons I’ve learned whilst living in Glasgow is to LOOK UP. Most of the city’s buildings, especially the Victorian-era buildings, are adorned with sculptures, inscriptions, and other such decorations.
A common decoration around the buildings of Glasgow University is the above little statue and relief of St Kentgernus (as this relief states), this particular one sitting high on the wall on the University Avenue side of the John McIntyre Building.
So, who is St Kentgernus and why is he featured on many buildings around the campus of Glasgow University?
A simple and quick precursory search on the net for St Kentgernus came up with very little. Absolutely nothing in most search engines. Nothing on Flickr or Wikipedia either. Peculiar, huh?
The answer lies in the fact that Kentgernus is a variation of the Latin Cantigernus, which in English reads as Kentigern. St Kentgernus is St Kentigern.
Commonly known as St Mungo, he founded the city of Glasgow in the 6th century by the banks of the River Clyde and set up a monastery at a spot where now sits the Glasgow Cathedral. His remains lay buried in the crypt of the Cathedral. St Mungo is the patron saint of Glasgow, and it is from his legend that the city gets its coat of arms and its motto, Let Glasgow Flourish.
The connection between St Mungo and Glasgow University lies in the very first years of the life of the University, as the University was initially based in a charterhouse at the Glasgow Cathedral in 1451. The legend of the four religious miracles of Saint Mungo which he performed in Glasgow is also incorporated into the coat of arms of Glasgow University.
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
Queen Margaret Union
The Queen Margaret Union (or the QMU, or QM as many students call it), Glasgow University’s former women-only students’ union, dates from 1890. Originally a part of the Queen Margaret College in the West End, the QMU became Glasgow University’s women’s student union in 1892 when the College merged with Glasgow University. (In case you’ve ever wondered where the name Queen Margaret Union came from, there’s your answer.)
The current building, of which the entrance is shown in the photo above, dates from the University expansion of the 1960s (and it shows), having opened in 1968 at 22 University Gardens. Before this the union had been housed in several locations, including 1 University Gardens and in the John McIntyre Building after the GUU moved in 1932.
The QMU building, at the turning point of University Gardens, contains a large event venue, Qudos, a small cafe, a general store, a bar (Jim’s Bar) and a games room, a cafeteria and a cafe, as well as study rooms and even laundry facilities.
The QMU has in the last few decades become a popular live music venue, particularly so after bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, and Garbage played at Qudos in the early 1990s. Recently bands such as Biffy Clyro, Franz Ferdinand, The Temptations and even (a part of) B*Witched, the last two just in the past year.
I’ll admit this is not the most flattering of pictures of the QMU, just as yesterday’s shot of the GUU was taken from a weird angle and didn’t show a substantial part of the union building. The obscure angles and framing are unintentional, and these buildings will very likely be featured again in the future. Even so, it’s not what the buildings look like on the outside, it’s what they offer on the inside to better a student’s social life whilst at the University.
Students at the University of Glasgow are given the option to join one of the two main student unions at the University, the QMU or the GUU, right after their Freshers’ Week. I can’t tell you which one to join, as it’s a personal choice and both unions have their pros and cons.
Freshers’ Week gives new students the opportunity to get to know what both unions have to offer, and after a week of partying one will know a.) which union has the best parties and so on, and b.) which union most of your friends belong to.
The QMU website can be found at QMU.org.uk. The QMU also has a Facebook page and a forum site called QMunity.
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
Glasgow University Union
With a history reaching back to 1885, the Glasgow University Union (the GUU, or GU as it’s commonly referred to by many students) is one of the largest and oldest student unions in the United Kingdom.
The building you see here dates from the early 1930s, when the GUU moved from the John McIntyre Building to its present location due to growing membership in the union. Some of the amenities offered include a billiards/snooker hall (apparently one of the largest in the UK), a cafeteria, a Subway restaurant, a debating chamber, a beer bar (called the Beer Bar), a few arcade machines, two libraries, a small shop, and a reading room (with a bar.) Not visible here is the 1960s extension to the GUU which houses the nightclub and several more bars. With all that, the GUU is (allegedly) one of the largest licensed premises in Scotland.
Even with the relatively large and extensive GUU to serve and cater to the needs of students, Glasgow University has another student union, located just at the other end of the University campus. Considering the fact that most Universities in the UK have a single students’ union, why does Glasgow University have or need two of them?
The answer lies in the small detail that up until 1980, Glasgow had a men-only union (the GUU) and a women-only union, the Queen Margaret Union. Yes, I said 1980. (Kinda late, huh?) The QMU allowed men to join in 1979, but the GUU, which kept to its old ways for almost a further 2 years, was the last student union in the UK with single-sex membership.
Technically, depending on what your definition of a student union is, Glasgow University has two to five student unions; the Glasgow University Union (GUU), the Queen Margaret Union (QMU), the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), the Glasgow University Sports Association (GUSA), and the Hetherington Research Club. You could technically include the Mature Students’ Association in this list. The Queen Margaret Union, the former women’s union, will be featured tomorrow, and I’ll feature/allude to the others in the future.
The Glasgow, Scotland with Style poster, which is visible in the left half of the photo, is the same one as the one featured in Sunday’s post. This side of it features the Cloisters, as alluded to on Sunday. A part of the Rankine Building can be seen just behind the GUU building.
The GUU website can be found at theGUU.com.
The GUU also has a Facebook group and a Bebo profile.
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
A Panorama of Glasgow University
By now this tower should be becoming familiar to any reader of this photoblog, and for a good reason: it can be seen from practically EVERYWHERE. This particular panorama was created from shots captured from the southern end of Kelvin Way, from right next to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
That general area is also one of the few places where one can see the South Front of the Main Building of the University in one view. Interestingly, even though Gilmorehill rises just after the Main Building and the 12 floors of the University Library sit just behind the Main Building, no other University buildings can really be seen from this spot. (If you look very closely at the picture, you’ll notice the a part of the tower and roof of the University Library are partially visible just to the left of the flag pole. It’s the block-shaped tower amongst pointy spires.)
To get the most out of the panorama, click on the photo above to open the Flickr page, then hit ALL SIZES to view large or original version. (The original version might not open, or might take forever to open, as it’s a 10991 x 3408 pixel picture sized at 5.41MB. Might be best to download the original and view it on your computer to see the view in all its glory.)
[Poll #2: What's your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com All Rights Reserved.
Glasgow, Scotland with Style
It’s scenes like these when the earliest University buildings on Gilmorehill complement the typical Scottish weather.
The City of Glasgow advertises its offerings under the slogan Glasgow, Scotland with Style, an example of which can be seen in this photo. The slogan is typically accompanied with an easily recognizable landmark or tourist spot from Glasgow, in some cases the University is represented.
The three buildings in the photograph are the Pearce Lodge, the James Watt North Building, and the University Tower, ever-lurking in the background. All three buildings, on the surface, adhere to the same construction style and make-up, and were built in the 1880s when the University moved from High Street in the East End of Glasgow to the blooming West End.
The Pearce Lodge, the shorter building in the front with the spherical spire, actually incorporates parts of the gatehouse from the Old College. The gatehouse and other parts of the original 17th Century stonework were moved stone by stone to the new site when the Old College was demolished. (The original gate is just below the bottom of the photograph, not visible here.)
The James Watt North Building, just behind the Pearce Lodge, also dates back to the late 19th Century and houses the Department of Computing Service. Well, at least that’s what the sign outside the building states. (My initial research done online for these photos came up with absolutely nothing about the James Watt North Building. Zilch. Nothing on the Univeristy website. I will get to the bottom of this. If you know anything, share your knowledge in the comments below!)
The University Tower, well, this towering landmark will become familiar to you with time. I’ll feature each of these buildings individually in further detail in the future, as they all deserve much delving into.
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
Adam Smith Building
Although it may seem like it, this is not an extension of the Boyd Orr Building shown yesterday. Built in the same (horrific) architectural style as the Boyd Orr Building and several other buildings on campus, this is the Adam Smith Building which provides for the needs of Social Sciences departments such as Politics, Economics, Social Work, Sociology and Anthropology. The building is divided into two distinctly different parts, one housing staff and postgraduate offices for many LBSS departments and the other containing lecture theaters, the Adam Smith Library, classrooms, laboratories, the Glasgow University Media Group and more Faculty of Social Sciences offices.
As the Dean of the Faculty told us during Freshers’ Week, the University dedicated one of the ugliest buildings at the university to it’s most famous student, Adam Smith (of The Wealth of Nations fame). The building was opened in 1967 during the great 1960s expansion of the University north of University Avenue on Gilmorehill, a period of expansion which is responsible for the likes of the University Library which towers over the Adam Smith Building.
Now, as with the Boyd Orr Building, the Adam Smith Building is really quite difficult to get a good picture of. Not because its a tricky subject to shoot like the Cloisters, but because there isn’t much beauty to the concrete slab + windows combination. Regardless, if you’re a Social Sciences student, the building will grow on you and you’ll begin to appreciate it with time. During my first year at Glasgow University I had all my tutorials (Politics, Sociology and Anthropology, and Economic and Social History) in the Adam Smith Building, and the view from some of the classrooms is enough to let you forgive and forget what the exterior looks like.
Maybe it’s just me…
Interestingly, the Adam Smith Building’s exterior and its immediate surroundings are apparently a good spot for parkour.
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
Boyd Orr Building
Here’s another view of the imposing structure known as the Boyd Orr Building, one of the tallest structures on campus. There’s a rumor that due to the shape of the building, high winds create vortexes which blow down the side of the building and throw students down and away, especially as they climb the stairs at the entrance on the University Avenue side. Due to this, a barrier was built along University Avenue as it passes the Boyd Orr Building. You know, to stop students from being thrown into oncoming traffic. I say “rumor” because I’ve heard this from one student, read it in a comment on Wikimapia, on a Wikipedia article, and in the comments of a Facebook group dedicated to the building.
Personally I can’t make up my mind about the building. I had my Level 1 Economic and Social History lectures in the building, which brought me to BOB three times a week. Yes, I’ve nicknamed the building BOB (take a wild guess what that stands for.)
The building was originally called The Boyd Orr Building for Basic Sciences and is one of the many buildings on campus which make up the Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences (FBLS). In addition to the Science students, many other students from a large variety of departments frequent the two lecture theaters at ground level, as well as the labs and small lecture theaters scattered around the building.
Oh, and the hand dryers in the bathrooms on the ground floor are quite futuristic.
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
Red Telephone Boxes
There’s an interesting setting on my new camera which allows me to accentuate one colour, whilst draining away all other colours. A gimmick, I know, but sometimes it allows you to present a familiar scene in a different light.
I’ve found that red is one of the best colours to play with while walking about, if for no other reason than that it isn’t that popular of a colour in nature and the world around us.
The above scene was taken from next to the John McIntyre Building, facing the western corner of the North Front of the Main Building. I could’ve framed the picture better and taken a bit longer in setting it up, but I like it as it is, nevertheless.
In writing this I remembered that the Glasgow Daily Photo blog also featured these phone boxes in a similar fashion back in the Fall (Autumn as I’m apparently supposed to call it), from a different angle. You can find that picture by visiting the photo blog at glasgowdailyphoto.wordpress.com.
I’m always experimenting taking better photographs in an effort to learn and become a better photographer, so there might many more “artistic” shots in the future.
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
A Magnificent Building
It’s not always sunny in Glasgow. Well, it’s rarely sunny in Glasgow. Many of the photos presented here portray the University against a backdrop of a bright blue sky, when the daily reality is more akin to what you can see in the photo above. Plus rain. Lots of rain. Often.
Today’s photo is one of my favourite photos out of all the ones I’ve managed to shoot during my first year at the University. Why? Because of the darkness of the clouds, the trees swaying in the growing wind, the impending rainstorm about to hit, and just then the clouds let a few rays sunshine light up the Main Building, highlighting just what a magnificent Gothic (Revival) building it is. Be sure to click on the photo and check out the larger version on Flickr.
That little dot just to the right of the University Tower is actually a seagull, of which there for some reason are plenty of around here. Odd, as the Firth of Clyde and the Irish Sea are over 40km away. Sure, the River Clyde does meander through the city of Glasgow, passing just over a kilometer south of the Main Building, so I guess that has something to do with it. You’ll be interested (maybe) to find out that the three most common animals which hang out around the University are pigeons, seagulls, and cats. There’s also a lizard lounging around the Zoology Museum.
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
University Gardens
The main artery of the Glasgow University campus is University Avenue, which runs from Byres Road eastward towards Gibson Street and the River Kelvin, and houses most of the University buildings to its north and south sides. Just off University Avenue runs a one way road which loops back to University Avenue roughly 75 meters up the road from where it began. The post shown in the photo above sits at the exit of University Gardens.
So what is University Gardens?
It’s not a garden, first of all. The bit left in the middle as the road loops its short distance is taken up by trees and grass (and daffodils in April).
As you enter University Gardens and traverse its length back to University Avenue, you’ll pass the Victorian George Service House and the Hetherington Research Club, the 1960s Maths Building and the Queen Margaret Union (which sits at the turning point of the road), the modern Modern Languages Building, and a row of 1880s tenement buildings which contain the departments of Music, History, History of Art, Scottish Literature, English Literature, English Language, and the offices of the Arts Faculty and the Careers Service. (I think that’s everything.)
As an extra treat, I’ve embedded a street view map of University Gardens so you can take the journey without stepping away from your computer. (Hint: Hit the little icon in the top-right corner of the embed to enjoy the view full screen.)
The photo was taken from the spot just before you get back to University Avenue. Once there, turn around and you’ll see the same post with the blue word “OUT”. Or, follow this link to get to it. I’m thinking about embedding Google Street View to my posts more frequently, what do you think?
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
The Practice of Antiseptic Surgery
Earlier in the year the University began to run an advertising campaign at the nearest subway station, the Hillhead Subway Station. A large poster highlights the accomplishments of some of the University’s most famous Alumni and their inventions, under the heading: “Welcome to the world-changing University of Glasgow”.
The first of these advertisements highlighted Joseph Lister (1827-1912) and his development of the practice of antiseptic surgery. This was followed by the person generally considered the University’s most famous son, Adam Smith, the father of modern economics. Presently the spot is highlighting Ian Donald, the developer of the ultrasound scan.
To find more about the ad campaign in relation to the alumni and the inventions, follow these links: Joseph Lister, Adam Smith, Ian Donald.
[Opinion Poll: Black or White background?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com. All Rights Reserved.
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