Basic Site Details

Name: Cumbernauld Town Centre, Phase I
Town, district or village: Cumbernauld
City or county: Lanarkshire
Country: Scotland
Parish:  
Status:  
Grid ref:
Notes: £5.5m

Dudley Leaker, G. Copcutt, John Ogg, Neil Dadge, P. Aitken

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 1Urban planning  

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 51959 ProposedOr 1955 according to some sources
Item 2 of 516 September 1960 Proposedplans to complete a shopping centre with underground parking for 5,000 cars, fed by two main carriageways and a separate main entrance for pedestrians in three years' time per Builder p549
Item 3 of 519631967Build/construction 
Item 4 of 521 August 1964 * Build/constructionDevelopment Corporation to proceed with 500,000 sq. ft. town centre, phase I, on a separate sub-contract basis
Item 5 of 523 September 1966 Plans prepared, construction not yet begunPlans announced by Development Corporation. Phase I & II (£4.5m) together, to incorporate a cinema, concert hall, police & fire stations, banks, hotels, restaurants, technical college and health clinic. Phase II awaiting approval from Scottish Development Department

* earliest date known from documented sources.

People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 7Cumbernauld New Town Development Corporation A19591967 
Item 2 of 7Geoffrey Copcutt A19591963As Group Leader
Item 3 of 7Leslie Hugh Wilson (known as Hugh Wilson) A1959 As Chief Architect and Planning Officer
Item 4 of 7William ('Bill') Gillespie A19591962Landscaping, particularly of north side
Item 5 of 7Neil Jordan Dadge A1960s Executed designs
Item 6 of 7Philip Aitken A1960s Executed designs
Item 7 of 7Douglas ('Doug') Stonelake AMid 19631966Execution of designs prepared before his arrival by Geoffrey Copcutt

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 6Glendinning, M, MacInnes, R and MacKechnie, A1996A History of Scottish Architecture  p563
Item 2 of 6Glendinning, Miles1997Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75  Tuckwell Press Ltdp30-1
p49 Photograph of Town Centre
p84-5 Aerial of model of Town Centre
p86-92
p172
Item 3 of 6Glendinning, Miles and Muthesius, Stefan1994Tower Block: Modern Public Housing in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Yale University Press: New Haven and Londonp239
Item 4 of 6Gold, John R The Practice of Modernism: Modern Architects and Urban Transformation, 1954–1972   
Item 5 of 6http://www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/  http://www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/2986   
Item 6 of 6Miles Glendinning, Diane Watters, David Whitham Docomomo Scotland Leaflet  p230

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 5Builder16 September 1960  p549
Item 2 of 5Builder25 November 1960  'This Week in Parliament - Development of Cumbernauld New Town' p981 - mention
Item 3 of 5Builder8 May 1964  p961-962 - illustrated overview of Phase I development
Item 4 of 5Builder21 August 1964  p407
Item 5 of 5Building23 September 1966  p165

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 2Courtesy of Douglas StonelakeInterview of Douglas Stonelake by Jessica Taylor, 4 November 2008 in Glasgow  
Item 2 of 2Courtesy of William GillespieInterview of William Gillespie by Jessica Taylor, 2 February 2009 at ECA