If a building ‘spoke’, what might it say? “A clean slate is a miserable foundation upon which to build”, perhaps. This issue, on the seventieth anniversary of its foundation, focuses on the ways the AHSS speaks for Scotland’s buildings – through campaigns, casework and collaboration.

Mavisbank’s future looks considerably brighter following the Landmark Trust’s £5.3 million award from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. In our first article, James Simpson examines the legacy of its creator, John Clerk, and its history, decline, and long-hoped-for revival.

Iain Wotherspoon considers casework in our second article, highlighting local and national efforts to respond constructively to planning applications. He notes that the AHSS arose from one such case – the University of Edinburgh’s proposed demolition of George Square. What would have been lost without those pioneering campaigners? Sharavan Kalloor then shares his experience on a Cases Panel and what it has meant to him as a young professional. “I came to Edinburgh to study conservation. But the Cases Panel is where I began to practise it”, he says.

Collaboration drove the Bernat Klein Studio Coalition’s success in purchasing the building at a dramatic auction last year. Jess Burrows explains how heritage bodies, funders and private donors came together rapidly to take this crucial first step towards saving the studio. A similar swift response will be needed if the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland’s ambition to create a new home and ‘heritage hub’ at Bristo Port is to be realised. Dr Simon Gilmour explores the site’s long history and notes that time is running out to secure the funds for its purchase.

Many of us have been involved with Doors Open Days over the years, as owners, volunteers, visitors or even coordinators. As part of European Heritage Days, this year’s theme is ‘Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine’ – showcasing transformation and remarkable campaigning across Scotland. Emily Sherriff and Alex Docherty guide us through several programme highlights.

Mikey Davidson brings a personal perspective to the campaign to save the George Cinema in Portobello. Clearly, even modest architecture can contribute immensely to communities’ sense of place and collective memory. I quoted his article at the start of this ‘Welcome’: developers’ enthusiasm for blank slates can be heartbreaking.

This issue’s reviews range across publications on subjects as varied as castles, cityscapes, follies and contemporary Scottish architecture – ancient, modern and everything between.

Local group casework and activity reports are bookended by Benjamin Tindall’s appreciation of Oliver Barratt MBE and Professor Alistair Rowan’s ‘favourite building’; the Basilica of Santa Giustina. I wish I had witnessed Oliver’s clever interventions demonstrating the visual impact of planning applications. How does one go about hiring and installing a barrage balloon in central Edinburgh? Writing just days before the magazine goes to print, a relaxing stroll through Padua’s historic square to see the Basilica sounds particularly inviting. I might not fully understand the language spoken by this building, but I would certainly enjoy listening.

Abigail Daly, Editor

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