Saturday 17 November 2012

Architectural quiz - the answer

The answer is a Carpet Factory.
The building was designed for James Templeton and Son, Glasgow, Scotland, manufacturers of spool Axminster carpets, and completed in 1892. 
The architect was William Leiper who modelled it on the Doge's Palace, Venice, but with a Scottish twist. 
Today it is home to 143 flats/apartments.
Doge's Palace, Venice
all images courtesy wikipedia
Four people got the correct answer - listed in the order that they arrived:-
1. Freda
2. Suzy at Rustic Vintage Country
3. Jane and Lance Hattatt &
4. the fly in the web

30 comments:

  1. Well done to the winners.
    I was dying to see what the answer was.. I surfed over to venice and the Doge palace..then went all over..
    what a wonderful building.
    A real teaser

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    1. Dear Val - you were very nearly there then with the Doge's Palace.

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  2. Oh !!Ι gave an opposite answer ! Now is home and at the past a factory ! What a nice architecture for a carpet factory ! Thank you for sharing this !
    Olympia

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    1. Dear Olympia - it is an amazing building for a carpet factory. The Victorians did things on a grand scale.

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  3. I wish I go to see this beauty myself Rosemary. Sorry for not reacting on your post but now when the stress of loosing my job is gone I have a bad back. I can't sit still for only a few minutes. I hope things will be oke in short time now I know my job is save.
    Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Dear Marijke - I am so very sorry to learn that you are in pain with your back. Nothing is worse than back pain it is very waring and gets you down. I hope that you are able to sleep alright.
      I did not know that you were at risk of losing your job, but I am happy to learn that it is safe. That is the last thing that you want with Christmas looming on the horizon.
      Take care Marijke♥

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  4. Such a beautiful building. It would be nice to live in a building that beautiful. This building actually look like the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London except for the turrets on the roof. Have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed seeing it - did you see the post I did on St. Pancras dated 14th July last?

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  5. Hello Congratulations to the bloggers who identified the building. This would be a wonderful place to live. Thanks for sharing
    Helen xx

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    1. Dear Helen - it is a very imaginative building for a carpet factory, and I am sure that the apartments that are now housed in it have some interesting features.

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  6. The carpet factory looks fantastic. We have never been in Scotland.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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    1. You must visit Scotland sometime and go to the highlands.

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  7. Dear Rosemary,
    I am way to late to post a guess. I do like these old buildings, don't you? Much better, I think, than the usually clone-like pre-fab boxes that seems to constitute most of today's places of work.
    I've only been to Glasgow once - changing trains whilst on my way to Mallaig back in the 1980s, so I would have had no idea.
    I enjoy these quizzes.
    Bye for now,
    Kirk

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    1. Dear Kirk - you are right, I think that we have lost a lot in our modern contemporary world. The detail in this carpet factory building is really quite exquisite.

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  8. It used to be that when factories were made over into apartments, the spaces were huge. Now they are often cut up into tiny, odd spaces, and the prices are extravagant. The Templeton factory is exceedingly attractive for a utilitarian building, and it does looks big enough to hold 100+ apartments.
    --Road to Parnassus

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    1. It looks from the second photo as if they have built an extension to the factory at the back, and incorporated some of the fancy brickwork into the new building to marry to two parts together. Thank goodness they did not knock it down.

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  9. Hallo Rosemary!It is so beautiful buildind for a Carpet Factory!!It has something from Italy!I was close then!!!Wishing you a lovely weekend!!
    Dimi..

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    1. Dear Dimi - I believe that it came close to being demolished, but luckily was saved. Yes, you are right, it was influenced by the Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy.

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  10. A very colourful building. Amazing this was once a factory. It looks like a palace from the fairytales of one thousand and one nights to me. The patterns on the building do make me think of Eastern carpets a bit, so maybe a carpet factory isn't so strange after all. Anyway, it's a good thing it's so beautifully preserved and many people enjoy living there nowadays.
    Thank you for this beautiful architectural quiz and answer again Rosemary.
    Bye,
    Marian

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    1. Dear Marian - that is a very good observation, the brick pattern work does reflect the designs of an Eastern carpet. Thanks for your comments Marian, and hope that you had the lovely November sunshine today, we had a brilliant red sky tonight.

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  11. How interesting that this magnificent old building into apartments, such a good idea.

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    1. I think it is far better than the alternative which was probably to pull it down.

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  12. I wouldn't have guessed the Carpet Factory. Amazing building. Don't you wonder what the flats look like??

    Have a great weekend.

    G

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    1. Dear Georgianna - I have wondered what the flats look like, pretty spectacular I should imagine. I looked on the internet, but didn't have any luck.

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  13. Dear Rosemary - Well there's an answer I would never have guessed! I'd love to see the apartments that feature the round gothic windows. And one advantage to having a flat there is that giving directions to your place would take a little less work!

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    1. No, I am sorry Mark it wasn't at all obvious. However, your Venetian Gothic was spot on. The flats that are in the original part of the building must be pretty spectacular, and as you mention, especially those wonderful round gothic windows.

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  14. The apartments must be large and airy in that building. Last month we were by the Doge’s Palace in Venice and it was warm and sunny, just like in your picture. But I saw that there had been “acqua alta” lately and there was at least 3 or 4 ft of water there now.

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    1. Yes, I had heard that there had been a big surge from an exceptionally high tide in Venice, and people were wading around in water up over their knees. The Venetians usually have wood structures that they put in place for people to walk around on when that happens.
      I think the apartments must be very attractive, but I could not find any images of the interior.
      Thanks for your visit, and do hope that things are going satisfactorily for your husband.

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  15. Imagine fashioning a carpet factory after a palace! I'm glad it has found a new residential purpose, this allows it to continue being well taken care of :)

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    1. Dear Rosemary - the Victorians thought in a grand way when they built. So many of these wonderful buildings have been knocked down and destroyed, but now the authorities have a much more responsible attitude. Better late than never.

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