26 That was Glasgow's invitation to come and explore buildings in the city, whose interiors are rarely seen, on Doors Open Day 1992. Doors Open Day is now in its fourth year in Scotland, having started in Glasgow as part of the City of Culture events in 1990. Since then it has been coordinated by the Scottish Civic Trust and is now a well established event in the architectural calendar. The initiative is, however, European in origin, having developed from the European Heritage Day: one day in the year on which a countty's cultural heritage is at the centre of attention. Under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, many historic buildings are opened to the public free of charge, and special activities are often organised in and around the buildings. It is a unique opportunity to take a look behind the facades of old buildings which are normally closed or only partly open to the public. Last year 15 countries took part in the event, one of those being the United Kingdom, or should I say Scotland because our colleagues south of the border have been surprisingly slow to pick up on the benefits of the idea. Events were held in 13 different locations, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee and rural areas such as Ayrshire and Clydesdale. Interestingly, Berwick upon Tweed realigned itself with Scotland to participate! Commonly, Doors Open Days have been organised by local Civic Trusts; however, last year Clackmannan, Mia Scott describes Scotland's enthusiastic adoption of a European initiative on public access. DOORS OPEN DAY "Have you ever wondered what lies behind some of the impressive, intriguing, mysterious or even forbidding doors that you have passed by evety day? On Saturday, 19 September, let your curiosity take you through some of these doors and discover a side of the city you may never have seen before - the in-side." Clydesdale and Dundee District Councils took the lead in organising their own local events. Experience has shown that Conservation Officers are well placed to organise one, having a knowledge of local historic buildings and often previous contact with building owners - although this can be less helpful if it was as a result of an enforcement action! Access to administration facilities, typing, printing, telephones, mailing, publicity, insurance, and even venues for a civic reception, are all things that a local authority has to offer as a matter of course, but which can be problematic for the smaller civic trusts. So, why get involved in Doors Open Day? Many a Conservation Officer's job description will include a remit to promote the enjoyment and understanding of the built heritage, or similar. The primary aim of the ACO is "To promote successful conservation of the national heritage ..." which would be impossible to achieve without the support, understanding and involvement of the public, as owners of our historic buildings. Traditionally, many local authorities have sought to raise public awareness through the publication of Conservation Area leaflets, design guides and the use of interpretation boards. These are tried and tested, effective and often very attractive publicity measures, although people can still be left with a feeling of remoteness as to what building conservation is all about. The potential impact of Doors Open Day, by opening up and explaining the significance of the important buildings in our cities, towns and villages, is much more direct; it can reduce the remoteness of our heritage, allow people to gain a greater understanding of their environment and why and how we should protect it, and, most importantly, it can be great fun! Frank Lawrie of Historic Scotland neatly summed up the appeal of Doors Open Day at the press launch last year in saying that "homo sapiens is by nature an inquisitive species - given half a chance, there is nothing most of us like better than to have a peek in behind doors which are normally closed!" In some of the bigger towns and cities in Scotland, the sport of 'building bagging' on Doors Open Day now rivals munro-bagging in popularity. The spirit of public participation in chasing across the city as part of a great architectural invasion, all clutching Doors Open Day leaflets and ticking off the buildings, is tremendous. Needless to say, there is great inter-district rivalry between the organisers of Doors Open Day throughout Scotland, although, as usual Glasgow is always biggest and best, so they say!! One of the highlights of the 1992 event was in fact a Glasgow building, Casa D'Italia at 22 Park Circus, which is one of the finest interiors in the city and attracted a staggering 3,000 visitors on the day. So, its simple isn't it? Willing owners will open up their historic buildings. Volunteers from local amenity groups will give up their weekend to act as learned guides. Arrangements for publicity, signage, information sheets and a civic reception will fall into place, and CONTEXT 38
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