Modern British Architecture

Figure 1. The Millennium Bridge from the Tate Modern observation deck.

Why did the public cross the bridge? To get to the other side.

That joke is old news, just like crossing the Thames by foot is old news. The Romans built the first bridge across the river almost 2000 years ago, and the oldest surviving bridge,  Newbridge - dates from the 13th century (South). So how did the Millennium Bridge, something as simple and old-fashioned as a footbridge, draw over 80,000 people to its opening day in 2000? Perhaps location is the answer, as the bridge connects two high profile landmarks: St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tate Modern Gallery. Then again, Southwark and Blackfriars, two other bridges perfectly functional for crossing the river (as most bridges are wont to be), flank the new site relatively closely on either side. Perhaps the appeal lies in the bridge’s technologically sleek design? The designers touted the project as a “blade of light across the Thames” an emblem of technology at the start of the 21st century that “gives space back to the people” (Foster). Perhaps it was just the novelty of the new. In any case, whether the draw was function or inspiration or something else entirely, the opening of the bridge enticed the modern masses to come out and cross the Thames. So many came out, in fact, that they caused a modern building based on an idea as old as antiquity to become structurally unsound. But more on the unsound bit later on!

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This image is of a stairwell window as seen through the grid pattern punched in top landing’s banister. Although the photo was taken from a slightly contrived angle, requiring some light crouching and weaving on the landing to get this particular perspective, I think the effect is one that Mackintosh designed to occur regularly: shapes and patterns of different sizes are encountered through other shapes and patterns, and light is a major factor. The viewer stumbles upon the contrast of dark wood and bright sunlight, an effect also seen in the Glasgow School of Art’s library, while shadows from the camera’s flash can be seen on the wall behind the grid, reminiscent of the geometric shadows cast by the ornate lighting fixtures at Hill House.

In Hill House or the Glasgow School of Art, Mackintosh might have been tempted to fill these carved holes with brilliantly colored glass, and it is interesting that there is little glass work outside of the green cross and ornate blue heart stained glass windows at either end of the church’s main room. Perhaps the lack of added color is motivated by functionality and practicality: the design in the stairwell is simple and economical and does not draw attention from the main place of worship, all appropriate points for a church building. Yet at the same time, Mackintosh manages to present something interesting and unique - after the anecdote about fastidiousness told by the School of Art guide, it is hard to imagine Mackintosh allowing the banister’s cut-out grid to go undone if he had decided it should be there. During the day, dark wood and light would have played off each other, and in the evening, it seems as though light would have come through the gallery windows and through the door, eventually casting a golden grid onto the stairwell’s opposite and otherwise plain wall. There is something surprising and moving about Mackintosh’s ability to channel detail into sparse perfection: the bed footboard in the master bedroom at Hill House was almost plain except for three tiny pink glass sections. The stairwell at Queen’s Cross is pretty plain too, except for the four-square grid that reveals a slice of the stairwell below and a slice of the outside world, channeling it through three different medium: the wood of the banister, and then the stone and glass of the window. It seems incredible that even this removed and slightly out of the way portion of the church has such a degree of attention paid to it, and for me, it is this care and precision and perfect economy of detail that has begun to define the Mackintosh style.

BACKGROUND

Great Scotsman. “Charles Rennie Mackintosh.” [Online image] 15 Jul. 2007. http://www.firstfoot.com/Great%20Scot/crm.htm Read more

Jeppesen Terminal, Denver International Airport: Fentress Bradburn Architects. The roof consists of Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric supported by cables: this construction seems to let in a lot of light while supporting large and lofty open spaces. Design details inside the airport subtly point travelers in directions that increase traffic flow (i.e. there are usually portals at either end of each section of the airport: tesselated floor tiles and bird installations overhead point patrons to the nearest exit/entrance). I like traveling through this building, especially since I had the impression that from the outside it looked like a big white caterpillar when I was little (as in age 19).