1880 – Bute Hall, Glasgow University

Architect: John Oldrid Scott

In 1870 a new-build campus was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic revival style for Glasgow University replacing their traditional location. The largest of these buildings echoed, on a far grander scale, the original High Street campus’s twin-quadrangle layout. Between the two quadrangles Scott’s son, Oldrid, built an open undercroft, above which is his grand Bute Hall (used for examinations and graduation ceremonies), and the buildings’ signature gothic bell tower. The blond sandstone cladding and Gothic design of the building’s exterior belie the modernity of its Victorian construction; Scott’s building is structured upon what was then a cutting-edge riveted iron frame construction, supporting a lightweight wooden-beam roof.