Our built heritage always seems to be about the castles and the and churches. Sometimes it is the modest structures that are the most evocative and stirring.
Each week I drive up and down the country, visiting majestic structures that are celebrated and embellished with the symbols of importance and power. It is refreshing to accidentally come across a building that sits quietly in the landscape. An honest expression of purpose.
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Even though it is utilitarian, some thought given to the proportions of windows and walls, lending a stillness and nobility to the structures. The colour, texture of the steel and the relationship of these buildings to their surroundings are special. The peeling paint and mottled rust that indicate age. Like ourselves, they have endured the slings and arrows of fortune and survived with a quiet dignity that deserves recognition.
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They have been the backdrop to many memories and adventures, the story of ordinary highland folk and ordinary lives, not for the chiefs, the warriors or the local worthies. They a part of our experience and that of our parents and grandparents, a thread that connects generations.
Our heritage is not all about the drama and excesses of conflict, riches or poverty. Everyday buildings play an important role, putting the castles and palaces in a meaningful context. Without them we cannot see the many levels of society that bridged the extremes and how they changed and evolved over the generations.
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These buildings are not protected. Unloved and unnoticed, one day they will no doubt disappear and with them, a small part of our identity and understanding of ourselves. When this happens it also diminishes the historic gems. Castles stripped of their connection to a place and its people, become isolated, empty vessels, the home to half-truths and fiction to entertain the tourists.
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MAAC studio are accredited conservation architects and principal designers working with traditional buildings throughout Scotland.
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