AGM, followed by ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’

Thursday 18 April 2024, 7.30 pm

Talk by Bruce Keith

Author Bruce Keith will return to speak to the Trust about Scottish Milestones based on his book ‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’ – but this is not just a story of distance markers.  This talk will also provide an insight into early methods of measurement and mapping in Scotland, as well as the travellers of the 18th and 19th century whose journals laid the foundation of the Scottish tourist industry.

The book was, the author claims, ‘inspired by the Road and the Miles to Dundee’—the familial reason for this will be explained to us during the talk.

The talk will take place at our usual venue, Dundee Art Society’s Roseangle Gallery. It comes after the business of our Annual General Meeting, which begins at 7.00pm (19:00) and runs for half an hour. Guests are welcome and there will be the opportunity to chat over a glass of wine before the talk.

A Hacklemaker’s Tale

Thursday 15 February 2024, 7.00 pm

Talk by Roderick Stewart

“The Hecklie”, as Wm R Stewart & Sons (Hacklemakers) Ltd was known, was an unorthodox Dundee company founded in 1874 which expanded from making hackles for jute machinery to become the world leader in supplying pinned products to a wide range of industries with its own subsidiary, Stewarts of America Inc., in the USA.  The story covers the company’s transition from traditional wooden staves to high-tech aluminium pinned tubes and also includes the stories of the ‘Nutshell’ folding caravan, ‘HMS Hackleworks’ and the company’s role in the saving of HMS Unicorn and the return of RRS Discovery to Dundee.

The talk will take place as usual in Dundee Art Society’s Roseangle Gallery, starting at 7.00pm (19:00). Guests are welcome and there will be the opportunity to chat over a glass of wine afterwards.

An Inspection of the Ballachulish Bridge

Thursday 7 December 2023, 7.00 pm

Talk by Ken Peebles

When the Ballachulish bridge opened in 1975, replacing the old ferry across the Narrows, the travel geography of the west coast was altered for ever. The ‘new’ bridge is now approaching its 50th anniversary and Trust member Dr Ken Peebles will give us a layman’s guide to the theory which underpins the structural design of the bridge, followed by an insider’s description of a physical inspection carried out by the speaker.

The talk will take place as usual in Dundee Art Society’s Roseangle Gallery, starting at 7.00pm (19:00). Guests are welcome and there will be the opportunity to chat over a glass of wine afterwards.

V&A Dundee – The Story So Far

Thursday 16 November 2023, 7.00 pm

Talk by Leonie Bell

Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee, will tell us about the design museum’s journey up to its recent fifth anniversary and look towards the next five years as the V&A continues to inspire through design, to deepen its civic impact and inspire new audiences.

Leonie leads V&A Dundee at its spectacular home in Dundee’s re-imagined waterfront: delivering the museum’s vision to inspire and empower through design, and for championing design and designers and the infinite possibilities they bring as catalysts of creativity and change.

The talk will take place as usual in Dundee Art Society’s Roseangle Gallery, starting at 7.00pm (19:00). Guests are welcome and there will be the opportunity to chat over a glass of wine afterwards.

50th Anniversary Lecture: Dundee – an Evolving Cityscape

As part of Dundee Civic Trust’s 50th anniversary year, we are delighted to announce this lecture to be given by Professor Ric Russell on Thursday 13 July 2023 at the Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee.

Ric is a popular figure who studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, School of Architecture. He won several academic prizes and gained entry to the Royal College of Art, London, Industrial Design Course.

In 1982 he was co-founding Director, with the late Andrew Nicoll, of Nicoll Russell Studios Ltd. The practice’s first significant project was Dundee Repertory Theatre which, besides winning a Dundee Civic Trust Award, was last year granted Category A listing, joining a mere handful of other post-war listed buildings in Dundee. The practice has designed many other buildings which have received prestigious awards, seven of those being given by Dundee Civic Trust, most recently Dundee Railway Station and Water`s Edge.

Over more than forty years, Ric has had wide-ranging experience in many different types of projects including arts and theatre, commercial and hospitality, residential and educational, as well as being a specialist in contextual, environmental and interior design.  Unusually for an architect, Ric has also collaborated on the design of many major civil engineering projects including the Clackmannan Bridge, the Falkirk Wheel and Seabraes Bridge in Dundee.

Having been brought up and studying in Dundee, Ric’s work with Nicoll Russell Studios has naturally had a focus in the Dundee area; however, the practice works throughout Scotland, the rest of the UK, and overseas as far afield as Australia.

Ric has served as a Commissioner on the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland and subsequently as a Director and chair of the review panel for Architecture and Design Scotland.

In 1996 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy and is now a full member. Subsequently he was appointed to Professorships at Heriot Watt University School of Architecture and at Dundee University Faculty of Architecture, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art.  He has presented a variety of architectural papers and has addressed the RIAS Convention on several occasions.

There is no charge for the lecture, which starts at 7 pm. It will be preceded at 6.30 by a wine reception kindly donated by McNicoll and Cairnie of Broughty Ferry. To assist with these hospitality arrangements, please drop us a line via our contact form if you wish to attend the reception.

20 April 2023: Bruce Keith, “Bridgescapes”

20 April 2023:  Bruce Keith, “Bridgescapes”

Author Bruce Keith will discuss his book ‘Bridgescapes’, which is a personal journey through history, celebrating Scotland’s bridge building heritage. Amply illustrated by a young Scottish photographer, Lewis Matheson, this will prove to be a thought-provoking, enlightening and engaging evening.  This talk has been several times delayed by Covid so we greatly look forward to finally hearing Bruce and seeing the photographs. 

The talk will start at 7.00pm at Dundee Arts Society Roseangle Gallery and non-members are, as always, welcome.  A glass of wine is provided to encourage conversation afterwards.

16 March 2023: Kirsty Maguire, “Passivhaus”

16 March 2023, 7.30 following our AGM

Kirsty Maguire, “Passivhaus; Design in a Climate Emergency”

Kirsty Maguire is an architect who combines building performance, industry training and the creation of creative and beautiful spaces. She leads her eponymous architecture practice, an award winning micro business based near Dundee. The practice blends design led work and environmental responsibility with quality of design, detailing and performance of the building at the heart of the process. Low energy, low carbon design is at the centre of all their projects, developing solutions that combine spatial quality, comfort and environmental criteria including biodiversity and how the building integrates with the immediate landscape to minimise the impact of the construction in the short and long term. Kirsty is a pioneer of energy efficient architecture in Scotland using Passivhaus as a tool for this. She works locally and internationally in design, teaching and specialist consultancy. The talk will look at the development of Passivhaus in Scotland and show examples of how practice has changed over this time with projects as case studies, and look to the future as to how the upcoming changes to the building regulations to integrate a Scottish ‘passivhaus’ could impact the industry.

Dundee Civic Trust AGM will commence at 7.00 pm in Dundee Arts Society Roseangle Gallery and the talk will start immediately after, at 7.30 pm.  Guests are welcome and there will be the opportunity to chat over a glass of wine afterwards.