Journal - BARD

Architecture Practice, BAILTEAN AILTEIREACHD ’S RÙM DÀNACH:
TOWNSHIPS, ARCHITECTURE & The ROOM of POETICS

The 2025 Scottish Design Awards have ushered in a

The 2025 Scottish Design Awards have ushered in a new golden age for architecture and design in Scotland, with a record number of entries and a celebratory atmosphere across the industry.

Our Practice Director, Ruairidh, was among the night’s most celebrated recipients, having been awarded Young Architect of the Year 2025 following high praise from the architecture judging panel.

“The fact that he has established his practice is to be commended. He has done a lot under his own steam without the benefit of a larger organisation. He has given a lot of time to teaching, mentoring and other activities.”

Speaking after the ceremony, Ruairidh said:

“I’m truly grateful and deeply touched to be named Young Architect of the Year - especially in the company of such outstanding nominees.

While awards often celebrate a single project, this recognition feels especially meaningful as it reflects the early stages of what has already been a varied and rewarding career. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by supportive family and friends, inspiring mentors, colleagues, clients and exceptionally talented collaborators, all of whom I think of as I accept this award.

The entire team at BARD, past and present, deserve recognition for everything we’ve achieved together. It’s a real joy to share this vocation with others who are just as passionate about architecture, and to pass on what I’ve learned to like-minded individuals.

A heartfelt thank you to the judges and the Scottish Design Awards - this recognition means the world.“

A link to Ruairidh’s award and nomination citation can be viewed at:
https://www.scottishdesignawards.com/2025/young-architect-of-the-year/ruairidh-moir/

The full list of award winners is available on the Scottish Design Awards website.

Ruairidh Moir has been shortlisted for the Young A

Ruairidh Moir has been shortlisted for the Young Architect of the Year Award at the Scottish Design Awards 2025, alongside some excellent talent.

The awards are announced this evening at scottishdesignawards.com @scottishdesignawards
Photo credits @alexjamesaylin

Progress continues at Ionad Eilean na h-Òige foll

Progress continues at Ionad Eilean na h-Òige following the recent limecrete floor laying in the space that will become a future museum. This is an important step in repurposing the former Eriskay School and delivering the wider masterplan.

We are grateful that Windyhill has been selected a

We are grateful that Windyhill has been selected as a finalist in the Low Cost Project Schemes Under £250k category for the 2025 Scottish Design Awards.

This has been an integral project in the trajectory of our office. We’re thankful to the judges for recognising the project alongside some other great work. Looking forward to the awards in June.

We would like to share that Ruairidh Moir is now o

We would like to share that Ruairidh Moir is now officially conservation accredited!

This accreditation acknowledges Ruairidh’s specialist expertise in the care and repair of historic buildings and further strengthens BARD’s capability in working across heritage projects.

For our clients, this ensures that we continue to meet high standards and further develops BARDs range of services to our clients.

John’s architectural achievements were many and

John’s architectural achievements were many and varied. As a student, he was awarded the RIBA “Certificate of Merit,” which was mistakenly received by Prof. Fielden, head of the Strathclyde School. That mix-up led to Fielden offering John a job—initially to get the School of Architecture built. In my view, John refined the concept of that building and executed the detail with skill and flair, especially for a young architect.

Later, alongside Frank Walker, he took over the office and delivered projects for NEL in East Kilbride. He then formed James Cunning, Cunningham and Associates, developing projects such as housing blocks on St Vincent Street and the adaptation of warehouses into flats on Montrose Street, in Glasgow.

He later worked in the public sector in Edinburgh, eventually becoming Head of Architecture for the City Council, after serving as Depute and Acting Director of Lothian Regional Council. He was chief architect on educational programmes, including St Thomas of Aquinas School. In all his work, he took pride in designing for communities, always listening to and serving those he worked for.

John could draw and paint like an angel. He loved cars—often driving from Perth to Durness and back in a single day, painting during his stops. He also loved good wine, good food, conversation, discussion, and debate. He travelled extensively, revelled in places, spaces, and cultures, and was always eager to share these experiences with us and many others.

He was the most human of men—full of wonder, emotion, empathy, and compassion. He also had an edge, a sharp intelligence, wit, humour, and a precision that defined his excellence. Every moment spent in John’s company was golden, valuable, and wonderful.

John was terrific fun—brutally honest and deeply caring.

I am grateful for knowing him and for being able to call him a friend. His absence will be deeply felt, but his lessons, ethos, and direction will stay with us and with all who knew him.

Thinking of his beloved family Moira, Reid, Morven, and John’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren at this time.

John, thank you—for everything. We’ll take it from here.

Ruairidh Moir, on behalf of BARD.

Post 1/2 - It is with sadness that I write about o

Post 1/2 - It is with sadness that I write about our dear friend and mentor, John Cunningham FRIAS—an incredible architect and a wonderful person, who sadly passed away on the 11th of March.

John Cunningham was a great mentor, friend, ally, and confidant. Above all, he was a loyal and faithful friend to me and to BARD since its formation. It’s no exaggeration to say that in the efforts of running this office, John was with me every step of the way, offering advice and wisdom borne out of his achievements as an architect. He offered gentle encouragement to find my path. He was, as he liked to say, “a wall to bat a ball against”—not just for me, but for many others as well.

I first met John as a student at Strathclyde School of Architecture. I was part of a campaign to save the School of Architecture building when there was a plan to evict us from our purpose-built and brilliant home. Professor Frank Walker directed me to John, who had been the project architect for the building 45 years prior. Well, the rest was history—a fast friendship was formed.

John contributed to ‘crits’ at Strathclyde for many years and loved engaging with the profession he served so passionately throughout his life. He was motivated by new ideas, future innovations, and the wonder of life, the world, and its culture. His interests spanned across technology, architecture, and the arts. I’ve rarely met someone who took such delight in virtually everything.

I remember one phone call when John asked how I was getting on. I casually mentioned I was working through a detail on a light cannon, thinking nothing more of it. The next morning, I found him sitting at our board in the studio, having already spent hours working through the issue, ready to talk it through with me. On another occasion, a project was ready for planning, and we started debating a simple flashing detail between an extension and an existing building. By the end of that, the existing scheme was entirely redesigned conceptually—and it was so much better for it!

I’m sure he’d chuckle on recounting these stories. He roared with laughter when hearing of the often absurd goings-on from our island tours.

Congratulations to Ciaran Gallagher and Charles Tu

Congratulations to Ciaran Gallagher and Charles Tulley who both have passed their part 3 examinations and are now Architects!

Their hard work, dedication and commitment has been evident in their years in practice working on a broad range of projects and at all stages. The growth and direction of BARD has been fuelled by Ciaran and Charles and it is great for them to have this recognition now.

“Sit down and letter your own name in the size and style preferred. Hesitate for a moment becomingly - then add “Architect”. Get a thrill out of this, as you regard it for a moment with none too adequate realization of the implication.” Frank Lloyd Wright

Well done, Architects.

Photos by @alexjamesaylin

UPCOMING LECTURE: As part of a series of talks fo

UPCOMING LECTURE:

As part of a series of talks for the Glasgow850 festival hosted by the Alexander Thomson Society, discover the contrasting stories of two renowned architects.

Ruairidh will be looking at two major Glasgow buildings, both built around the same time and in two phases, but in two contrasting manners, Sir John James Burnet’s Clyde Navigation Trust building and Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Glasgow School of Art.

📍Mitchell Library

🗓️ Saturday 1st February at 1:00PM

BARD Archive: An Artist’s Retreat Across the

BARD Archive:

An Artist’s Retreat

Across the Outer Hebrides, patterns of former habitations punctuate the landscape. In the case of Lemreway, a remarkable collection of blackhouses sit elevated above the new village, quite forgotten despite their prominent position overlooking the village. We have proposed a repurposing of one of these ruins.

Merry Christmas to all of our clients, friends, an

Merry Christmas to all of our clients, friends, and followers! From all of us at BARD 🎄

Macleod’s Gunnery It was a thrill to undertake

Macleod’s Gunnery

It was a thrill to undertake a survey on the Isle of Berneray earlier this week where we spent time immersed in the spaces and the location. The Gunnery is a significant building that dates back to the 16th Century, which is reflected in its category A listing. We poured over the physical remains of the building to piece together the evolution of the building and the site. These walls sheltering us from the squalls and heavy rain that befell us while there!

Buildings such as these hold intrigue in their composition. Surveying by hand not only connects us more deeply to the structures themselves but also helps reveal hidden historical details and alludes to others waiting to be uncovered. We look forward to being part of efforts to give the building a voice and helping preserve it for future generations.

We are on site at Caol Ruadh. We had a great oppor

We are on site at Caol Ruadh. We had a great opportunity to make some informed decisions with our client and the contractor, learning from the existing materiality and listening to the building. The out-buildings have been rescued from further deterioration and we look forward to seeing the proposals take shape in due course.

Cruachan Beag has recently been published in a boo

Cruachan Beag has recently been published in a book by @phaidonpress among some other worldwide projects featuring stone such as @kkaa_official @unstudio_architecture @t_fretton and Frank Lloyd Wright @wrighttaliesin

A conversation with @ribajournal discussing the ma

A conversation with @ribajournal discussing the making of Windyhill’s motor garage has now been published in print in the September Issue.

The issue is available to buy at online at www.ribabooks.com, or you can read the article online as part of their Making Buildings series at www.ribaj.com.

We are coming to Orkney in the near future and hav

We are coming to Orkney in the near future and have time to fit in some site visits and consultations. If you wish to speak to an architect about any project, big or small, that you’ve been thinking about, book in a complimentary consultation with Ruairidh. Call us on 01415544899 or email info@bard.scot

Check out the article on the Windyhill Motor Garag

Check out the article on the Windyhill Motor Garage for the RIBA Journal at www.ribaj.com - in print soon!

Thank you to all at @scotparl for organising the F

Thank you to all at @scotparl for organising the Festival of Politics, where we enjoyed reflecting on the building being 20. It was wonderful to reflect on the parliament buildings inception, lasting legacy and its role in inspiring future generations.

It was great seeing friends again, and more to come.
@bene_tagliabue @embtarchitects @mcgregor1833 @scotttavish @kewanderson

We are pleased to share that Ruairidh will be join

We are pleased to share that Ruairidh will be joining an esteemed panel at the Festival of Politics 2024 ‘20 Years of Holyrood’ event. The panel will discuss the architecture of the Scottish Parliament, 20 years on – a constant source of inspiration at BARD.

Join us at the Parliament on Tuesday, 20th August, for what promises to be an inspiring and insightful conversation with Benedetta Tagliabue, Tavish Scott, and Gordon McGregor as they explore the legacy, innovation, and stories behind this architectural masterpiece.

More information, along with details on how to purchase tickets, can be found on the Festival of Politics website.

We are delighted that the new motor garage at Char

We are delighted that the new motor garage at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Windyhill has been highly commended at the GAGA Construction Awards 2024.

BARD were commissioned to design a high quality garage structure adjacent to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Windyhill, replacing a c. 1980s car port. The process required careful observation and analysis of Mackintosh’s design intentions; leading later to our assistance in the restoration of a number of elements across the property inside and out.

The new garage references Mackintosh’s own hand and those from which he drew. His botanical study ‘Sea Pink, Holy Island’, where he labels ‘seed’, ‘bud’ and ‘flower’ adjacent to the various elements of the plant – completed the same time as the house in July 1901 – presents ideas similar to those which percolate Windyhill, serving as a relevant narrative from which to construct a contemporary architecture.

The resultant structure is comprised of 3 main elements: a concrete basin, where ground slab and wall are one; articulated tapering steel stanchions which grow to support a plate steel roof; and hand-finished translucent glass which wraps around the perimeter, enclosing the construction in an atmosphere akin to petrified fog. The motor garage represents the established seed or bud, ahead of its future ‘bloom’.

To read more about the project visit our website at www.bard.scot, or click the link in our bio.

@galvanizersassociation
Photos by @alexjamesaylin

BARD Archive: Gallan Head Masterplan The site ex

BARD Archive:

Gallan Head Masterplan

The site exists on a promontory projecting northwest into the Atlantic. There has been many interventions built over time. The most notable of these would be the war time military buildings with built structures dating back to the first World War. Subsequent to this a radio monitoring station was established in the second world war.

The BARD team were very excited to welcome our fri

The BARD team were very excited to welcome our friends Jean Sundin and Enrique Peiniger, founders of New York based, award-winning Architectural Lighting Design Studio, OVI to Glasgow where we showed them around some examples of work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. BARD and OVI have collaborated on projects in the past and continue to do so.

The tours included Queen’s Cross Church, The Hill House, The Mackintosh House at the Huntarian and, of course Windyhill, during their stay. We also managed to squeeze in a visit to Glasgow’s stunning Cathedral as well as a tour around our new studio located in Sir JJ Burnet’s impressive Clydeport Building in Central Glasgow.

Our entry to Turku Museum of History and the Futur

Our entry to Turku Museum of History and the Future - A Vessel of Chronicles and Voyages.

We propose a building as a campus, placed on the shore line and creating a kind of landscape that evokes the qualities of this place. Large blocks are anchored against sheltering walls, like ships come into harbour. We propose a dynamic and exploratory building, blending historical narrative with a forward-thinking approach. The vessel navigates through time, filled with chronicles and opportunities for new voyages.

The Galleries would be capable of being seen from many different vantage points. Within these linear Exhibition Galleries it is proposed that there would be a variety of floor levels as well as a contrast of tall space and a lower-ceiling gallery with a mezzanine level above. This allows a variety of routes through the exhibition spaces and enables parts of the display to be altered while other sections can remain accessible. The wonderful views from the building over the harbour would be an attraction in their own right.

The curving, copper roof forms of the exhibition galleries, that resemble sections of ship hulls, provide controllable daylight from the north. Since in places the museum will also be seen from higher up, the roof is effectively treated as another visible facade. The remaining roofs such as the Foyer and the Wall Block would be ‘semi- intensive’ green roofs to mitigate water runoff and to help promote bio-diversity.

As required for flood defence, the ground floor level of the whole building would be raised. Having this as a suspended structural floor would enable the main building services distribution to take place below and to enable flexibility for displays.

Riverfront Visual by @axsonoffice.co.uk

#turkumuseum #architecturecompetition

Following on from our visit to Great Bernera we ha

Following on from our visit to Great Bernera we have established our initial steps to form a new dwelling on the site. The approach along the hill or over the hill leads you around remains of the blackhouse to the front door, which itself marks the entrance to a fabulous external room formed by a deep slice Lewisian gneiss rock.

The new house is set back, to be a by-standard between the blackhouse and this naturally formed space. One enters and turns, greeted by a large table in a generous hall, an inglenuk next to central fire/chimney and stair element that the roofs will span from. The kitchen is embedded in the shelter of the hill, and looks through outside to inside again.