Robert Douglas Sandilands was born in Lesmahagow, Scotland on 13 April 1854. He was articled to Alexander Petrie (c.1842-1905?) in Glasgow from 1875 to 1880. He then studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1880 to 1885. Sandilands qualified as an architect in 1886 and from 1886 to 1913 was in partnership with John Thomson (1859-1933) in the Glasgow-based architectural practice Thomson & Sandilands. Following Sandilands' death, the office continued as Thomson Sandilands & MacLeod, with Alexander Hood Macleod (1889-1941) as the third partner.
Sandilands was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1906. He died in Glasgow 10 December 1913.
For a list of architectural projects by Robert Douglas Sandilands from 1887 to 1912 see Dectionary of Scottish Architects 1660-1980. See also Historic Environment Scotland 'links below]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Mireylees, Suzanne. In the shadow of Gartloch: The life and work of John Thomson & Robert Douglas Sandilands. Ph.D. thesis, University of St. Andrews, 2005