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2023 Programme
All Buildings
Join us for a unique tour of the ARC, the University of Glasgow’s new Advanced Research Centre and an exciting hub for research, discovery and events!
Come & explore this newly renovated church building in the heart of the city dated from 1877. You will experience a story of survival & renewal, of community & creativity, of art & poetry.
Visit the oldest swimming pool in Glasgow to see our skylit swimming pool and magnificent Turkish Bath, a hidden treasure in the city for over 150 years.
Baltic Chambers is surrounded by modern office blocks which highlight the grandeur of this impressive Victorian era building. It contains the studios of Glasgow’s longest operating radio station.
Ever wanted to stand on the stage at Barrowland? This is your opportunity, join a tour of this world famous venue.
Former Glasgow Corporation bus garage. View preserved vehicles, transport-related artefacts in our archive and witness restoration activities.
See the very auditorium where Stan Laurel made his stage debut and experience the sights, sounds, touch, taste, and smell of the world’s oldest surviving music hall.
A rare opportunity to see this unique ‘Glasgow’ style tenement built in 1906. Learn about the history of this innovative building, and enjoy the stunning from views from the private roof garden.
Castlemilk Stables, originally designed by David Hamilton, once a home for the horses and workers of the Stuart family which lived in Castlemilk House which is no more being demolished in 1969.
The CCA has been at the centre of Glasgow’s art scene for over 30 years. It operates within an Alexander Greek Thomson building, a Georgian villa and another building, each with a distinctive history.
The West End has another new resident. We invite you to come and see inside Clarice Pears, visit Glasgow’s Health exhibition and be part of the University’s 100 years of public health celebrations.
This is your chance to find out about Zen Buddhism and visit a working Zen temple in the heart of Glasgow. Come along for a guided tour and an opportunity to ask questions and find out about Zen
Come see how we source and roast coffee at our roastery based in Glasgows East End. A short tour and demonstration with a tasting after to for us to really show how great coffee can be!
This weekend only – find out more about the pioneering companies working at Fairfield, visit the 1950s with characters Muriel and Jasper and the future with The Shipyard Trust! Kids activities too!
Please come along & visit our striking Category B-listed former church; hidden gem in the West End. Now a vibrant Mental Health Community building confidence, skills, relationships & fighting stigma.
If you’re thinking about making green home improvements and need inspiration – take a tour of this recently retrofitted and refurbished Glasgow home.
All Trails
Air raid precautions, blackout regulations, shortages and rationing; take a walk down Sauchiehall Street and explore the shopping experience in Glasgow during the Second World War.
Explore a brief tour of the history of transport in Glasgow – from ferries to steamers, railways to the Finnieston Crane.
Writers Zoë Strachan and Louise Welsh lead a half-mile walk along West Princes Street & Queen’s Crescent engaging with two hundred years of social and cultural history.
Guided by the After the Garden Festival team this walk will visit all surviving physical remains and point out key locations from the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival across the 120 acre site.
In this tour we’ll explore how architecture and community have become intertwined in this vibrant and creative area.
On this walk we will introduce you to some of these men, their families and the houses they inhabited.
Follow in the footsteps of Mary Queen of Scots’ army at the Battle of Langside.
Discover the rich history of Bridgeton on this walk led by local historian Peter Mortimer, taking in such treasures as Greenhead Works, Templeton’s Olympia Cinema, the Umbrella at Bridgeton Cross
A guided walk round one of the West End’s lesser known suburbs with plenty of building and railway heritage to see
A tour around one of Glasgow’s oldest districts, starting at historic Glasgow Cross, taking in landmarks such as the Tolbooth Steeple, Mercat Building and Mercat Cross.
Experience the history of the weaving industry in this old Glasgow district. Admire the architecture of Glasgow Cross and St Andrew’s Square and witness the Barras Street Market led by Peter Mortimer
Glasgow’s development as an industrial centre, its contribution to the global carbon economy and consequences for social development are explored with an expert eye.
Discover how the rich history, once-mighty industrial heritage and dramatic natural landscape of the former village of Cathcart make it the unique and picturesque southside locality it is today.
By looking closely we can engage with the civic spaces that surround us, examining the stories that are preserved and presented to us, as well as seeing and acknowledging those that aren’t.
As part of Doors Open Day 2023, join the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) for cemetery tours at Glasgow Cardonald Cemetery!
As part of Doors Open Day 2023, join the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) for a cemetery tour at Glasgow Cardonald Cemetery!
All Activities
An exhibition about Glasgow Building Preservation Trust projects.
Glasgow Royal Infirmary is one of the oldest functioning acute hospitals in the UK. The original building was designed by the Adam brothers.
Come & enjoy the launch of A_Place Gallery: a new art space in the city centre. This exhibition will highlight & celebrate emerging local artists within a building which speaks of survival & renewal.
Enjoy a wander through an art gallery, followed by the chance to reflect on the beautiful building. Prompted by your senses, your memories, your thoughts, we will come together & get creative.
Winners of the Outstanding Event of the 2022 Open Doors Festival, The Tenementals will deliver a public presentation about creating a history of Glasgow in song.
Join our behind the scenes tour of the National Library’s moving image and sound archives. Learn about our digitisation projects, hear from technicians and see how to access our collections.
Timorous Beasties was established in Glasgow in 1990 by Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons, who met studying textile design at Glasgow School of Art.
Come and enjoy a compost making demonstration – it’s simpler than you think! Soon you’ll be turning your kitchen scraps, coffee grinds and cardboard into superb compost!
The ‘Building Stories’ exhibition captures untold stories about derelict buildings in Glasgow, and raises awareness of the perilous state of their preservation (or the lack of) of these buildings.
Glasgow Building Preservation Trust hosts a panel discussion on current restoration projects happening in the city.
Travel back in time with us for a very special tour of Glasgow’s only medieval castle! After an award-winning tour in 2019, The Village Storytelling Centre returns to Crookston Castle once again!
Join us at the ARC for the first screening event in our CinemARC series. We’re thrilled to present this special screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, Rear Window.
Join us for a building tour culminating in the heart of our home – Parveen’s Canteen- to share food and learn about Civic House’s award-winning transformation into Scotland’s first ‘PassiveWareHaus’.
Join Dr Karen Mailley-Watt on a whirlwind journey through Victorian and Edwardian Glasgow where she will investigate buildings and spaces which were occupied, run, or utilised by the city’s women.
Learn about the built environment in a fun and relaxed setting – CLIMANIA is climate action game where players race rising temperatures to retrofit their property and reduce energy consumption.