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Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | Robert Forsyth |
| Designation: | Architect |
| Born: | 19 December 1921 |
| Died: | |
| Bio Notes: | Robert Forsyth was born on 19 December 1921. In 1937 he was articled to the cinema specialists McNair & Elder. After completing his articles in 1941 he volunteered with the Royal Air Force Bomber Command serving as Flying Officer, Navigator in the Pathfinder Force. After demobilisation in November 1946, he took a post as assistant with Glasgow Corporation Education Department whilst attending Glasgow School of Architecture on a part-time basis. He was awarded his Diploma in June 1951. The following year he sat the qualifying exam and was admitted ARIBA on 8 January 1952. In 1951 he had transferred to Glasgow Corporation City Architects Department, working mostly on schools, and was involved with the large programme of school building throughout the 1960s. In 1967 he was appointed Assistant County Architect of Lanarkshire where there were many cases of site subsidence due to mining and as a result became a member of the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme (CLASP). He had a major role in designing the CLASP system of building to cope with these site problems: a light steel framework on an extended concrete foundation with outside walls of concrete panels and windows. The buildings were designed on a grid allowing architects to make use of Computer Aided Design. In conjunction with the other members of the Consortium large contracts were entered into for the components which were then simply drawn off as required, a system which resulted in considerable savings. The consolidation of Glasgow and five other local authorities into the Strathclyde Regional Council resulted in much varied local authority work for Forsyth. In 1970 he was appointed Depute Director of the Department of Architecture and Related Services in the Council. The post involved liaising with the Directors of various departments - Education, Social Work, Police and Fire - and assisting them to streamline their programmes of work and prepare briefs for passing on to staff. In 1981 he was promoted to the post of Senior Depute Director and as such assisted the Director in the management of the entire Strathclyde Regional Council architectural programme, a post which he held until his retirement in October 1986. Forsyth served as President of the Glasgow Institute of Architects from 1978 to 1980 as well as serving for five years on the Architects Registration Council of the UK, as Vice President of the RIAS and a council member of the RIBA. In his private life he was a member of the Royal Technical College Sailing Club and of the Royal Technical College Amateur Football Team which won the Scottish amateur cup in 1954. |
Private and Business Addresses
| The following private or business addresses are associated with this architect: | |||||
| Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | |
 | Glasgow, Scotland | Private/business | |||
| 607, Duke Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1950 * | ||
| 33, Greenholm Avenue, Clarkston, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1960 * | After 1965 | |
| 51, Mearns Road, Clarkston, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1970 | ||
| Dept of Arct'ure and Related Services, Regional O, Cotton Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland | Business | 1979 * | ||
| Homecroft, Uplawmoor, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1987 * | ||
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and Training
Employers
| The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this architect (click on an item to view details): | |||||
| Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | |
| McNair & Elder | 1937 | 1941 | Apprentice | |
| Glasgow Corporation Education Office | 1947 | 1951 | Assistant | |
| Glasgow Office of Public Works Architectural Department (later Glasgow Corporation City Engineer's Department) | 1951 | Architect | ||
| Lanarkshire County Architect's Department | 1967 | |||
| Strathclyde Regional Council Department of Architecture and Related Services | 1970 | Depute Director | ||
| Strathclyde Regional Council Department of Architecture and Related Services | 1981 | Senior Depute Direct | ||
Buildings and Designs
| This architect was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | |||||||
| Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | |
| Smithycroft Secondary School | Riddrie | Glasgow | Scotland | Project architect for City Architects Department (no date) | ||
| 1935 | Bellgrove Hotel | Glasgow | Scotland | As apprentice to McNair & Elder | ||
| 1937 | State Cinema | King's Park | Glasgow | Scotland | As apprentice to McNair & Elder | |
| 1937 | State Cinema | Shettleston | Glasgow | Scotland | As apprentice to McNair & Elder | |
| 1939 | Ascot Cinema | Anniesland | Glasgow | Scotland | As apprentice to McNair & Elder | |
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this architect: | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| Glendinning, Miles | 1997 | Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75 | Tuckwell Press Ltd | p177-8 Smithycroft Road Secondary School | |
| Peter, Bruce | 1996 | 100 Years of Glasgow's Amazing Cinemas | Edinburgh: Polygon | p 8 | |
| RIBA | 1950 | The RIBA Kalendar 1950-1951 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | ||
| RIBA | 1961 | Kalendar 1960-61 | |||
| RIBA | 1965 | The RIBA Kalendar | |||
| RIBA | 1970 | RIBA Directory 1970 | |||
| RIBA | 1979 | Directory of members | |||
| RIBA | 1987 | RIBA Directory of Members 1987 | |||
Archive References
| The following archives hold material relating to this architect: | ||||
| Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | |
| Professor David M Walker personal archive | Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material | Information kindly supplied by Mr Robert Forsyth | |
Images
© All rights reserved. Image kindly supplied by Mr Forsyth