Charles Rennie Mackintosh was an outlier during his time as an architect in Scotland. His architecture followed the contemporary iconoclastic form, meaning the social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and idols. This style, mixed with many cultural influences mentioned in my previous blog, was unsettling to Scotland in the early 1900s. He turned against classical styles such as Victorian and Greek-Roman design to a modern style that shocked 18th century Scotland.
Mackintosh’s style and completion of the Glasgow School of Art caught the eyes of Walter Blackie, an aristocrat who owned a large publishing house. Blackie commissioned Mackintosh to build a single family home in Helensburgh, Scotland. This was known as the Hill House.
It is said that the Hill House was designed “from the inside out.” As I mentioned in my previous blog, Mackintosh was not only an architect, but an artist and designer too. He believed that each room was a unique work of art. Rooms are set apart by their difference in geometry and use of light. White and ebony are dominant colors in the Hill House, creating delicacy in the structure. Mackintosh used changes of scale to stir surprise from room to room.
In regard to the exterior of the home, Mackintosh’s Hill House was differentiated from many buildings in the early 19th century. Cement was used to cover the exterior, giving it a stone-like smooth finish. The use of this new technology gave the house the appearance of a gleaming white castle, much like out of a fairytale picture-book. The Hill House was completed in 1904, however it did not stay in pristine shape for long. Shortly after moving in, the Blackie family experienced issues with leaks. The cement covering the home has no elasticity. When Scotland reaches freezing temperatures, the cement cracks and water leaks into the building. Ultimately, the Hill House needed complete restoration, which is currently costing 4.5 million euros! The home is covered by a chainmail tent structure. An expert on the restoration refers to this as “a modern idea in a modern dress” meaning that the home, a modern idea at the time, meets a now modern industrial-style chainmail.
Currently, the public is able to tour the unique home even with the restoration measures in place. Hill House attracts 35,000 visitors a year and those numbers are expected to increase after the restoration process is completed.
