The Ca’ D’oro is a really cool piece of 19th-century architecture. It was designed by the Glaswegian architect John Honeyman.

The building is located in the heart of the city centre and it was only during a walk with my flatmate, the one who took this picture, that I noticed the cool reflections on its windows. He’s an architecture student and shared a fun fact with me: there’s a secret behind the reflections on the glass windows which look a lot like reflections on water and oil. Apparently, there was a mistake in their installation during the renovation works. This little mistake contributes to some distorted reflections of the opposing building of the Gordon St side. The reflections look like distorting mirrors but keep it quiet – it’s an architect’s secret!

There are some theories behind the name: some think it comes from the Palazzo Santa Sofia palace (Ca’ D’Oro building) in Venice and others think it comes from a restaurant, the Ca d’Oro, placed on the extension on top of its original structure. This was later converted into a ballroom which was destroyed by a fire in 1987.

It’s crazy to think that the original iron cast frame structure survived and it’s now home to shops and offices!