Basic Biographical Details Name: | Gillespie Kidd & Coia | Designation: | | Born: | 1927 | Died: | 1987(?) | Bio Notes: | William Alexander Kidd was born in Greenock in 1879, the son of William Kidd, ironmonger and his wife Margaret Colquhoun Barr. He joined the practice of James Salmon & Son in 1898 as an apprentice and studied at Glasgow School of art from that year until 1902, also attending classes at the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College. He became chief draughtsman in the Salmon practice sometime before 1911, by which time the firm had become Salmon Son & Gillespie. He remained with John Gaff Gillespie after the latter took charge of the practice following the death of William Forrest Salmon, and Gillespie took him into partnership in 1918. When Gillespie died on 7 May 1926, leaving estate of £1,950 4s 11d to his wife Agnes, Kidd was his executor and became sole partner.
Jack Antonio Coia (born 1898) had been taken on by Gillespie as an apprentice in October 1915 at a salary of 4 shillings a week with no demand for a premium, and had subsequently worked with Alexander Nisbet Paterson and Alexander Hislop in Glasgow, and with Herbert A Welch and Hollis in London, before returning to Glasgow in 1927. On hearing he was back in Glasgow, Kidd appealed to him to return to assist in the reconstruction of the Smith warehouse as the Ca' d'Oro, for which Gillespie had left only sketch designs. Kidd died in 1928 while the work was in progress and Coia inherited the practice, which now became Gillespie Kidd and Coia, but there was little business apart from the fitting of Leon's shop at 89 St Vincent Street, and Coia joined the teaching staff of Glasgow School of Art.
In 1931 Coia approached Archbishop Donald Mackintosh for work on the programme of church extension then planned. This resulted in a series of important brick-built church commissions of continental inspiration and in about 1938, his senior assistant T Warnett Kennedy was taken into partnership. Kennedy was born c.1913 and articled to Coia in about 1927, after a brief spell with James Austen Laird. He returned to Coia thereafter, and remained with him apart from a short period with Honeyman and Jack. As a student he had been editor of the magazine 'Vista' published quarterly which included articles by Hans Poelzig, Ragnar Ostberg, R H Wilenski and other major names of the 1930s. Coia and Kennedy worked closely together but in Kennedy's words 'Jack thought with his fingers. He sketched at lightning speed. I pontificated on the emergence of abstract art … During the 1938 British Empire Exhibition we slept on the floor of the office an average of three nights a week.'
In 1939 Coia married Eden Bernard. Earlier in the same year he was commissioned to design Knightswood Secondary School and complete Gillespie’s Municipal Buildings at Stirling but both these projects were cancelled. When Italy entered the war in 1940, Coia briefly lost control of his office and practice at 239 St Vincent Street. The Salmon Son & Gillespie records were lost to salvage at that point but he did manage to retain those relating to his own practice from 1927. He quickly re-established himself under the same practice title at 199 Bath Street. Although admitted FRIBA on 20 May 1941, lack of business obliged him to retrench, combining house and office at 7 Hamilton Drive. In the later war years his income came mainly from work in the family café, such free time as he had being spent on obtaining a degree in town planning.
In 1945 Sam Bunton asked Coia to help with repairing war damage in Clydebank, Kennedy having earlier been asked to help at Dumbarton. This enabled him to restart the practice, taking on as apprentice Isi Metzstein, who was a refugee, and for a time his own brother John. In 1948 the practice moved out of Hamilton Drive to 19 Waterloo Street and in 1954 Andrew MacMillan joined the practice from East Kilbride Development Corporation. In 1956 both house and office moved to 20 Park Circus, and in the course of the move a burst water pipe destroyed most of the practice drawings. (At this time John Peter Coia, Jack's much younger brother, was working in the practice, having undertaken his apprenticeship there from 1933 to 1938.) Thereafter Metzstein and MacMillan undertook most of the design work. The last important building in which Coia had a major hand was St Charles, Kelvinside, where his design was developed by Andrew MacMillan and Joe Taylor.
Coia was elected ARSA in 1954 and full academician in 1962. He was appointed CBE in 1967 and awarded the Royal Gold Medal in 1969 followed by honorary degrees from the universities of Glasgow (1970) and Strathclyde (1976). In person he was in Patrick Nuttgens's words 'small, intense, unkempt, angry and bloody-minded', mainly as a result of wartime experiences and the post-war decision not to complete the Stirling Municipal Buildings as Gillespie had designed them. The poverty of contemporary architecture, dissatisfaction with the competition system and the destruction of some of his favourite buildings also coloured his outlook in his later years, his views being trenchantly expressed at the Royal Fine Art Commission of which he was for a time a member. In his retirement he spent much of his time at Glendaruel. He died on 14 August 1981, the funeral homily being preached by his pupil Father Kenneth Nugent SJ.
| Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 38, Bath Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1927 | | | | 144, St Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1928 * | 1934 | | | 239, St Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1936 | 1940 | | | 2, Clifton Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1939 | 1942 | | | 199, Bath Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1940 | 1941 | | | 7, Hamilton Drive, Glasgow, Scotland | Private/business | 1942 | 1948 | | | 19, Waterloo Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1948 | 1956 | | | 20, Park Circus, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1956 | 1976 | | | 227, Ingram Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1979 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployees or Pupils* earliest date known from documented sources.
Buildings and DesignsThis was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | After 1927 | Ca' d'Oro Restaurant | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Extension | | 1928 | Shop for Leon | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1929 | F & J Smith Furniture Warehouse | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Extension (on Union Street) and insertion of restaurant and ballroom (firm changed from Gillespie & Kidd to Gillespie Kidd & Coia in course of construction) | | 1931 | St Anne's RC Church and Presbytery | Dennistoun | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1934 | St Patrick's RC Church and Presbytery | Greenock | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | | | 1936 | Brierlands | Busby | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1936 | RC Church | Duntochar | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1936 | St Peter-in-Chains RC Church | Ardrossan | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Mainly by Kennedy | | 1937 | Super cinema | Musselburgh | | Midlothian | Scotland | | | 1938 | Glasgow Empire Exhibition, Palace of Industries North | Bellahouston | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | Glasgow Empire Exhibition, post office | Bellahouston | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | Glasgow Empire Exhibition, RC Chapel and Pavilion | Bellahouston | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | Knightswood Senior Secondary School | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | RC School | Govanhill | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | St Columba's RC Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | Stirling Municipal Buildings | Stirling | | Stirlingshire | Scotland | Proposed completion of building as designed by John Gaff Gillespie: contractors' huts erected 1939, but project abandoned due to World War II | | 1939 | Business premises, Union Street | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1939 | St Columbkille's RC Church and Presbytery | Rutherglen | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | June 1945 | Corporation Housing, Garscube | Maryhill | | Glasgow | Scotland | Drawing 2 - 'Stuart' House | | 1946 | Holy Family RC Church | Port Glasgow | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | | | 1947 | Scottish Motor Services Limited | | | Glasgow | | Alterations and addition | | 1948 | Askomel End | Campbeltown | | Argyll | Scotland | | | 1948 | Castle Street | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Alterations and additions | | 1948 | Factory and Dye-works | Cambuslang | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1948 | Hostel and Flats Gower Street | | | Glasgow | | | | 1948 | Ice Cream Factory | Kilmarnock | | Ayrshire | Scotland | | | 1948 | Our Lady of Good Aid RC Church | Motherwell | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | Renovation and reordering as Cathedral | | 1948 | Park Circus Place | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Alterations and additions | | 1948 | St Aloysius College, War Memorial | Garnethill | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1948 | Vicarfield Tyre and Rubber Works | Govan? | | Glasgow | Scotland | Alterations and additions | | 1949 | Glasgow University, Materia Medica and Physiology Buildings | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Alterations and additions | | 1949 | St Peter's RC Church and Presbytery | Partick | | Glasgow | Scotland | Additions | | 1950 | Hospital Buildings, Bearsden Road | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1950 | Our Lady and St Francis RC Secondary School | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Wing added | | 1950 | Senior Secondary School, Knightswood | Knightswood | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1950 | St Aloysius RC Church and Presbytery | Springburn | | Glasgow | Scotland | Repairs | | 1950 | St David's RC Church | Plains, Airdrie | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1950 | St Eunan's RC Church | Clydebank | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1950 | St Kevin's RC Church | Bargeddie, Coatbridge | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1950 | St Matthew's RC Church | Bishopbriggs | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1951 | Premises for Gensem Ltd, Pollockshaw Road | | | Glasgow | Scotland | For extensions | | 1951 | Shipbuilding and Railways Pavilion, Kelvin Hall | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1951 | St Lawrence's RC Church | Greenock | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | | | 1952 | St Bernadette's RC Church | Carntyne | | Glasgow | Scotland | Presbytery designed | | 1952 | St Michael's RC Church | Dumbarton | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1952 | St Michael's RC Church and presbytery | Linlithgow | | West Lothian | Scotland | Internal renovation | | 1952 | University of Glasgow, Biochemistry Building, Boiler House | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 10 October 1952 | Roman Catholic Church, Hillpark Street | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Plans prepared for alterations and additions | | 31 October 1952 | Presbytery, Plains | Plains | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | New presbytery | | 1953 | 'Domino' flats, Murray 1st Development | Murray, East Kilbride | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1953 | Buchanan Memorial Church and Hall | Oatlands | | Glasgow | Scotland | Reconstruction as RC Church; spire demolished as a result of neglect and structural problems | | 1953 | RC Church of the Sacred Heart | Bridgeton | | Glasgow | Scotland | New ceiling to correct structural faults in roof | | 1953 | St Andrew's RC Church | Airdrie | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1953 | St Peter and Paul's RC Church | Arrochar | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 27 February 1953 | Diocese of Paisley Hostel, Greenock | Greenock | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | New hostel | | 2 October 1953 | Aloysius College, Camphill Avenue | Langside | | Glasgow | Scotland | Plans in hand for alterations and additions | | 1954 | Ballroom Buildings for W K Gibb | Anniesland | | Glasgow | Scotland | Plans prepared and approved for new buildings | | 1954 | Country House | Lochwinnoch | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | Alterations and additions | | 1954 | Knightswood Senior Secondary School | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Redesigned and built school | | 1954 | St Joachim's RC Church and Presbytery | Carmyle | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1954 | St Mary's RC Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1954 | University of Glasgow, Anatomy Building | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Alterations | | c. 1954 | Celtic Football Ground | Parkhead | | Glasgow | Scotland | Designed roof covering over west terracing | | 1955 | Lawmuir Primary School | Bellshill | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1955 | Oratory, 19 Park Circus | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Conversion of operating theatre into oratory | | 1955 | Recreation Ground Clubhouse Buildings, Baillieston Road | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1955 | St Maria Goretti RC Church | Cranhill | | Glasgow | Scotland | Design only | | 1955 | St Saviour and Sacred Heart Schools | Orbiston, Bellshill | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | Rogerson gives 1956-1958 as dates; Close et al say built 'at same time as' Lawmuir Primary School (423740), 1955-57. | | 1955 | Turnbull Hall Chapel | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1956 | Catholic Retreat House | Craighead, Bothwell | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | Chapel formed from conservatory | | 1956 | Simshill School | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1956 | St Paul's RC Church | Glenrothes | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1956 | St Peter's RC Church and Presbytery | Partick | | Glasgow | Scotland | Interior remodelled (and furnishings) | | 1957 | Kildrum 1 Housing | Kildrum, Cumbernauld New Town | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1957 | St Kessog's RC Church | Ballach | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1957 | St Paul's RC Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1957 | University of Glasgow, Garscube Site, Veterinary Hospital & School | Garscube, Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | Hospital | | 18 January 1957 | Catholic Church at Kelvinside Gardens | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Builder p166 | | 18 January 1957 | Resiting of building at 2 Kelvinside Gardens | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Builder p166 | | 25 January 1957 | Premises for Lyon, Ltd | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Builder p209 | | 22 March 1957 | Barlanark Primary | | | Glasgow | Scotland | per Builder p572 | | 12 April 1957 | School, Pollock (Crookston House) | Pollock | | Glasgow | Scotland | per Builder p707 | | 1958 | Our Lady and St Francis RC Secondary School | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Addition | | 1959 | Lockhart Hospital | Lanark | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | Maternity Hospital | | 1959 | St Charles RC Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1959 | St Martin's RC Church, Ardencraig Road | Castlemilk | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1959 | St Peter's Seminary | Cardross | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1959 | Willox Park Home sheltered housing | Dumbarton | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 4 September 1959 | Maternity Hospital, Bellshill | Bellshill | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | Architects per Builder p143 | | 1960 | Kildrum Primary School | Cumbernauld | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1960 | St Mary of the Angels RC Church | Camelon, Falkirk | | Stirlingshire | Scotland | | | 1960 | St Mary of the Assumption Church, Bo'ness | Bo'ness / Borrowstouness | | West Lothian | Scotland | | | c. 1960S | St Benedict's RC Church, Drumchapel | Drumchapel | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1961 | Howford School | Pollok | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1961 | Kilgraston Convent Chapel | Bridge of Earn | | Perthshire | Scotland | Low courtyard of school buildings and chapel | | 15 December 1961 | Kildrum 1 Housing | Kildrum, Cumbernauld New Town | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | documents available from GK&C per Builder p1167 | | 1962 | St Benedict's RC Church | Easterhouse | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1963 | Our Lady's RC High School | Cumbernauld | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1963 | St Bride's RC Church | East Kilbride | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1963 | St Joseph's RC Church | Duntocher | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1963 | University of Hull, halls of residence | Hull | | Yorkshire | England | | | 1964 | High-rise residential block | Cumbernauld | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1964 | Our Lady of Good Counsel RC Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1964 | Round Riding Road housing | Dumbarton | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1964 | Sacred Heart RC Church | Cumbernauld | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1964 | St Patrick's RC Church | Kilsyth | | Stirlingshire | Scotland | | | 8 May 1964 | John Ogilvie Hall, Langside | Langside | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1967 | RC Cathedral | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1968 | BOAC Building, Buchanan Street | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1968 | Notre Dame College, Consuela Hall | Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1968 | Notre Dame College, Eyre Hall | Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1968 | Notre Dame College, Julie Billiart Hall of Residence | Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1968 | Notre Dame College, Lescher Hall | Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1968 | Notre Dame College, Ogilvie House | Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1969 | Notre Dame College | Bearsden | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1970 | St Margaret's Hospice | Clydebank | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | First part | | 1970 | St Margaret's RC Church | Clydebank | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1971 | Wadham College | | | Oxford | England | Alterations and additions
| | 1972 | Cumbernauld Technical College | Cumbernauld | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1974 | Robinson College | Cambridge | | Cambridgeshire | England | | | 1975 | Bonar Hall | | | Dundee | Scotland | | | 1981 | Glasgow School of Art refectory | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1983 | University of Glasgow, Hetherington Building | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | Early 1980s | Craobh Haven village | Craobh Haven | | Argyll | Scotland | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Gillespie Kidd and Coia | 1994 | Mac Journal One | | | | | Glendinning, Miles | 1997 | Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75 | | Tuckwell Press Ltd | p5 St Lawrence, Greenock p6 image St Lawrence, Greenock p28 Bellshill Maternity Hospital pp32, 86, 116, 119, 132-40, 149-50, 153, 170 Cardross Seminary p36 BOAC Office p38-9 p41 Robinson College p60 Kildrum I p129-140 p156 St Paul's, Glenrothes p170-1 Cumbernauld Original Housing Areas p172 Kildrum Primary School p173 St Bride's p178 St Lawrence's, Greenock | | Miles Glendinning, Diane Watters, David Whitham | | Docomomo Scotland Leaflet | | | p226, p229, St Peter's Seminary and Cumbernauld Residential zone images | | Pride, Glen L | 1999 | The Kingdom of Fife | 2nd Edition | The Rutland Press | p82 | | Rodger, Johnny (ed.) | 2007 | Gillespie Kidd & Coia, Architecture 1956-87 | | RIAS et al. | | | Rogerson, R W K C | 1986 | Jack Coia: his life and work | | Glasgow: privately published | | | Sharp, Dennis | 1969 | Jack Coia | 19 June 1969 | Country Life | | | Walker, Frank Arneil | 1986 | South Clyde Estuary: An Illustrated Architectural Guide to Inverclyde and Renfrew | | | p116, p125 | | Watters, Diane | 1997 | Cardross Seminary: Gillespie Kidd and Coia and the architecture of postwar Catholicism | | RCAHMS | | | Williamson, Riches, Higgs | 1990 | Glasgow (The Buildings of Scotland) | | | p344 | | Willis, Peter | 1977 | New architecture in Scotland | | | p7 p11 BOAC Offices, Glasgow p34-5 Our Lady of Good Council, Glasgow p36-7 St Margaret's Church, Glasgow p56-9 St Peter's Seminary | | Worsdall, Frank | 1967 | [Article on Jack Coia] | August 1967 | Scotland's Magazine | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Architect and Building News | 6 May 1964 | | | St Martin's, Castlemilk | | Architects Journal | 31 October 1962 | | | p1031-1038 - St Martin's, Castlemilk and St Mary of the Assumption, Bo'ness | | Architectural Design | January 1962 | | | p38 - St Martin's, Castlemilk | | Builder | 5 August 1949 | | | p184 | | Builder | 15 December 1950 | | | p649 | | Builder | 7 July 1950 | | | p45 | | Builder | 18 August 1950 | | | p232 | | Builder | 19 October 1951 | | | p536 | | Builder | 10 August 1951 | | | p197 | | Builder | 10 October 1952 | | | p529 | | Builder | 31 October 1952 | | | p640 | | Builder | 9 January 1953 | | | p108 | | Builder | 6 February 1953 | | | p257 | | Builder | 27 February 1953 | | | p360 | | Builder | 2 October 1953 | | | p525 | | Builder | 27 November 1953 | | | p862 | | Builder | 29 January 1954 | | | p240 | | Builder | 14 May 1954 | | | p870 | | Builder | 6 August 1954 | | | p240 | | Builder | 18 February 1955 | | | p316 | | Builder | 8 May 1964 | | | p963-964 | | Building | 14 July 1967 | | | p151 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | F no3825 (box 29) (Coia) | | Saul Metzstein | Information via website | | |
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