Philanthropy begins at home

摘要

It is difficult to imagine a more likely recipe for disaster than a client that comprises three chief executives of charitable trusts, who report to a reference body of eight people, who in turn report independently to each of the full trustees; where all are going through a 'change process' that is not complete or agreed; and starting with a budget half the costs required. So it is to the credit of both the clients and architect PagePark that the ￡l.86m new Carnegie headquarters in the UK is, subject to one major but remediable error, so successful. Scottish-born American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, although a 'non-dom', thought no one should die rich and spent the latter part of his life giving away the fortune he had made as, at one point, 'the richest man in the world'. The result is charitable trusts in all parts of the globe, with three based in his birthplace of Dunfermline: the combined entity of the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trust, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. These were all established between 1903 and 1913, but by the 2lst century the trustees wanted modern accommodation with better facilities, and to create a better engagement between the different trusts.