This place is a true OG-era urbex icon that needs little introduction. For many years I've seen it featured in books and articles and even the excellent 2007 film 'Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness'. Whilst on a Scotland roadtrip this year I finally got the chance to check out this controversial place for myself. Like it or hate it, it could be the 'marmite' of abandoned architecture and has secured it's position as a legend regardless.
The History
The history is covered in full in many places online but here is a brief introduction. The seminary was designed and constructed in the 1960s by two Glasgow-based architecture students who became responsible for several other significant modernist designs. It was a training school for priests and the untraditional design of the building was designed to let plenty of light in and generate contrast between light and shadow. However, the amount of interest in priesthood was declining at the time meaning the demand was lacking, and the building rapidly faced structural problems including water ingress. By the 1980s it had shut and soon became disused. It became a listed building for its ground-breaking Modernist design - more specifically Brutalism, and as a result cannot be demolished. Given the state of the building and the obscene cost it would take to restore, it lies today decaying as a sort of intentional ruin.
The Explore
Well there's not a whole lot to say about this one other than we got there, walked around, it was chucking it down with rain, and generally a very chill explore. We did see various other visitors around but for the most part it was quiet.
The History
The history is covered in full in many places online but here is a brief introduction. The seminary was designed and constructed in the 1960s by two Glasgow-based architecture students who became responsible for several other significant modernist designs. It was a training school for priests and the untraditional design of the building was designed to let plenty of light in and generate contrast between light and shadow. However, the amount of interest in priesthood was declining at the time meaning the demand was lacking, and the building rapidly faced structural problems including water ingress. By the 1980s it had shut and soon became disused. It became a listed building for its ground-breaking Modernist design - more specifically Brutalism, and as a result cannot be demolished. Given the state of the building and the obscene cost it would take to restore, it lies today decaying as a sort of intentional ruin.
The Explore
Well there's not a whole lot to say about this one other than we got there, walked around, it was chucking it down with rain, and generally a very chill explore. We did see various other visitors around but for the most part it was quiet.
Finally a few 35mm film shots I took on Ilford XP2 I made into a collage.
And a few portrait shots including one of the famous Headless Explorer of Cardross. Be careful if you see him about.
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