TRIBUTES have been paid to Professor Gavin Stamp, the architectural historian and former lecturer at Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh School of Architecture, who died from prostate cancer at the weekend at the age of 69.
Stamp founded the society that works to promote the legacy of Glasgow architect Alexander “Greek” Thomson and was perhaps best known for writing the Nooks And Corners column in Private Eye under the pen name Piloti.
Former Architects’ Journal (AJ) editor and current chief executive of Open City, Rory Olcayto, said: “Stamp is one of Glasgow’s great heroes – he sang the city’s praises when that great Victorian city needed it most – during the 1980s as it sought to redefine itself after decades of post-war gloom.
“During his time living there, his spotlighting of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson – revealing the genius and beauty in his work – reminded us that there was way more than Mackintosh making up Glasgow’s rich architectural heritage.
“If the world was fair, there would be plans being drawn up now for his friend Sandy Stoddart to create a sculpture of Stamp for George Square. He wasn’t a young man, but this is a loss to the profession and our culture, for sure.”
Glasgow-based architect and academic Alan Dunlop told AJ: “Gavin was a man of conviction and a true scholar with extensive knowledge of architectural history.
“He fought hard to have the work of Greek Thomson, especially, recognised for its artistic worth at a time when it was not considered sophisticated to do so. While we did not always agree, I was happy to support and to underwrite the Alexander Thomson Tomb Memorial in the Southern Necropolis
of Glasgow.”
Stamp, who was chairman of the Alexander Thomson Society, said in 2000 when it was decided that the tomb memorial would be commissioned: “It has been a scandal that the grave of one of Scotland’s greatest architects remains unmarked and uncelebrated.’’
Stamp wrote numerous books, and appeared regularly on television. His time at the Mackintosh School of Architecture from 1990 to 2003 saw him become an active heritage campaigner working to preserve Britain’s better buildings.
Private Eye editor Ian Hislop told AJ: “I inherited Gavin – it was fantastic for a new editor to have someone like that.
“He was extraordinarily dedicated, never missing an issue even right at the end when he was ill. He wrote so well, had held academic posts, and sat on so many societies but he also liked to create trouble. He genuinely devoted himself to this column – it was a life and a belief and an attitude. He’ll be very hard to replace but I hope that we can do something in his spirit.”
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