Modern British Architecture

In March 2000, British Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett introduced a new program of City Academies, intended to revive underperforming schools in disadvantaged inner-city settings. Academies would be independently managed schools, funded primarily by the state, with an initial voluntary investment from private parties within the nearby community. Each of these schools would identify a specialist focus in one subject area, but must admit students without regard to demonstrated skills or aptitudes.

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The influence of the Arts & Crafts movement is apparent in Mackintosh’s sculptural use of metal. The asymmetry of these ‘window-stops’ emphasizes their hand-made nature: none of the ornamentations (there are four total) is identical to any of the others.

In these window fittings at the Hill House, we see an elegant example of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s desire to combine decoration and function. Each of the wrought iron fixtures is comprised of three simple elements: the “base,� the “scroll,� and the “spring.� The thickest band of metal serves as the object’s base; this piece curves in plan away from the wall of the house, mirroring the gradual arc of the main bedroom window situated immediately above. (See image below.) The purely decorative scrolls take on a plant-like quality, growing vertically from the end of the flat ‘base’ piece; Mackintosh uses a plant motif throughout the interior, which seems particularly appropriate here, given that this window faces directly out toward the garden. Finally, a thinner band of iron curves in three dimensions (both in plan and in elevation), seeming to lift off from the base piece as it travels out from the wall.

This ground-floor window is located across from the sitting room fireplace and beneath the main bedroom window. The gradual curvature of the bedroom window is repeated in the form of the window fittings.

Painted to match the exterior trim, these fixtures are designed to keep the windows open to the desired angle. As a window swings open, the thinner band of iron compresses downward like a spring; presumably, the pressure exerted on the underside of the window frame would prop the hinged windows in place. Mackintosh adorns the inside of the Hill House with other purpose-built decorations, including gracefully curved hooks for fire irons (which flank the sitting room fireplace), the lamp above the bedroom mirror, and numerous pieces of site-specific furniture. But Mackintosh seems to have a particular fascination with the functionality of windows. Ashley’s detail for this assignment (also from the Hill House) is another decorative, but practical, mechanism for propping a window open. The image below, of a window in the Church at Queen’s Cross, shows one more Mackintosh-designed casement. Each of these windows is revelatory of Mackintosh’s ever-present aim as a designer: to create beauty and function simultaneously, by attending to every imaginable detail.

Arguably less ‘decorative’ than the examples at the Hill House, this window keeps rainwater from entering the building, even when it is open. The window opens toward the interior of the church; the wedge-shaped glass panes within the iron frames prevent water from blowing or splashing inside.

The Hill House is a home designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the family of Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie. Designed in 1902 and completed by March of 1904, the house is located in the town of Helensburgh, Scotland. Helensburgh, a burgeoning, wealthy seaside town, had developed as a retreat from the ever-more industrialized city of Glasgow (McKean 175). The country hillside provided an ideal setting for Arts and Crafts designers to express their anti-industrialist sentiments in the design of new homes. However, according to Blackie in John McKean’s “The Hill House,� many of the homes in this area drew on more traditional styles with red-tiled roofs, plaster walls, and wooden beams (178).

Unknown. “Hill House (Mackintosh).� [Online image] 14 Jul 2007. <http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/Vineyard/2423/hill_house.jpg>.

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The Grandstreet Theatre is a small community theatre located near downtown Helena, Montana. Built as a Unitarian Church in 1901, this building served as the city library from 1933 until 1976, when it was converted into a theatre. Interestingly, the sloping auditorium and proscenium stage were features of the original building: the Church’s Reverend Leslie Willis Sprague wanted the facility to function as a place for meetings, social events, and even performances.

<http://www.grandstreet.net/building.htm>

In 2005, “Grandstreet� commissioned a stained-glass window for its front face. Especially because a 1905 Tiffany & Co window (installed in memory of a pastor’s wife) is on display within the theatre, I think it is significant and appropriate that the theatre asked two local artists/craftsmen to create the new window.

I am interested in the way that a building’s function changes over time, even if the structure itself remains largely unchanged. In this particular case, I am impressed that throughout its history—as a church, as the city library and as a theatre—this building has been home to community-oriented activities. In part, this consistency might be attributed to the building’s location: between downtown and the city’s oldest residential area. But individuals no doubt took conscious steps to ensure that the building would be put to appropriate use each time it changed hands. This ties into our discussion yesterday of historic preservation. Beyond the physical appearance of a building, what responsibility does (or should) an occupant have when it comes to the use of a particular space?

Back in New Haven, Yale is looking to build a new Repertory Theatre in the next several years. There has already been a lot of discussion concerning the next use for the building on Chapel Street (which was also originally a church).