View of the R S Reynolds Memorial award plaque and sculpture 'Three Columns' by Roy Gussow. Awarded to Cumbernauld New Town in 1967 for Community Architecture by a jury selected by The American Instit ...

Description View of the R S Reynolds Memorial award plaque and sculpture 'Three Columns' by Roy Gussow. Awarded to Cumbernauld New Town in 1967 for Community Architecture by a jury selected by The American Institute of Architects.

Date c. 1997

Catalogue Number D 7264

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 710130

Scope and Content 'R S Reynolds Memorial' award plaque and sculpture 'Three Columns' by Roy Gussow, Town Centre, Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire Cumbernauld Town Centre was built between 1963 and 1972 as the world's first multi-level town centre. It was designed by Cumbernauld Development Corporation to house local amenities in one large complex, including shops, offices, community facilities and administrative buildings with underground parking and pedestrian access via a series of ramps and walkways. This shows a metal plaque with raised and printed lettering, and sculpture consisting of three stainless steel forms on a black polished stone base. Each column has a semi-circle cut from its inner edge, ridged to contrast with the smooth, flat surfaces seen elsewhere on the piece. A small plaque records its title, the name of the sculptor, and that of the award. This award was given to Cumbernauld's architects in 1967 by the Reynolds Aluminium Company of America, in recognition of the town's innovative community architecture. The abstract sculpture, a work by New York sculptor Roy Gussow (b.1918) suggests both architecture and modernity in its tower-like shapes. Cumbernauld Town Centre and the earliest areas of Cumbernauld New Town Housing have been selected as two of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/710067