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Charles Rennie Mackintosh
1868-1928
A Scottish pioneer of modern architecture and design.
The chronological context
of Mackintosh’s architecture
Chronological context in Architecture
- Modernism to Postmodernism 1890s
1900s
1910s
First generation
modernists
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
Second generation
modernists
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
Third generation
modernists
The pioneers of modernism.
They each treated form, space,
structure, materials and ornament in
novel ways.
These were the architects of ‘high
modernism’- the universal
International Style- as well as the
fashionable Art Deco period.
These were the architects of
Postmodernism.
They reacted against the orthodoxy of
high modernism.
Peter Behrens -
Berlin
Walter Gropius
Frank Gehry
Auguste Perret -
Paris
Le Corbusier
Philip Johnson
C. R. Mackintosh - Glasgow
Mies van der Rohe
Charles Moore
Otto Wagner -
Vienna
Gerrit Reitveld
I. M. Pei
Adolf Loos -
Vienna
William Van Allen
Michael Greaves
Louis Sullivan -
Chicago
Napier Art Deco architects
Louis Kahn
Frank Lloyd Wright - Chicago and mid-western states of USA
Robert Venturi
The context of his architecture
Geographical context:
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All his buildings are located in and around the greater Glasgow area of
Scotland.
Glasgow
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He visited Vienna, Austria, several times and while there submitted interior
designs for competitions.
Context continued…
Historical context:
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He was a pioneer of the modern movement, his buildings dating from 1898
to 1916, when he gave up his architectural practice due to disillusionment
and lack of clients.
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He is associated with the British Arts and Crafts tradition of the late
nineteenth century and the Art Nouveau movement of the 1890s.
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He was a first generation modernist who sought to rid architecture of its
revivalist tendencies.
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He rejected the foreign historical styles that his fellow late Victorian- and
Edwardian-age architects imitated. He believed these styles had no relation
to modern life; “how absurd it is to see modern churches, theatres, banks
made in imitation of Greek temples. There are many such buildings in
Glasgow, but to me they are as cold and lifeless as the cheek of a dead
Chinaman”, he said. They were “envelopes without contents”.
Context continued…
Social context:
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He built only a handful of buildings as he struggled to attract clients that
would accept his austere and sparse new style.
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His wife Margaret McDonald was herself an accomplished designer and
worked with him.
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He was very influential with the Secessionists (Art Nouveau designers) in
Vienna who recognised the significance of his work more than his fellow
countrymen.
He did not seek a new modernist style for its own sake, but rather an
artistic, honest and practical architecture that was relevant to the modern
age and that drew strength from Scottish traditions.
He utilised modern ideas and technology to enhance the functional aspects
of his buildings; steel, plate glass, concrete, air conditioning and heating
systems, electricity; he wanted to build around the needs of individuals
living in a machine-age society. “All great and living architecture has been
the direct expression of the needs and beliefs of man at the time of its
creation”, he stated.
Significant buildings
The Glasgow School of Art, 1898-1909
The Hill House, 1902-4
The Willow Tea Rooms, 1903
The Mackintosh House, 1906-14
Stylistic context
Mackintosh’s designs broke with the prevailing Glaswegian taste for buildings in a classical style. In 1907 the
commission for the Mitchell Library, one of the largest reference libraries in Europe, was won by W.B. Whitie
in a Neo-Baroque style.
W.B. Whitie, Mitchell Library, Glasgow,
1907-11
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Classical, symmetrical, formal, dignified
Classical ornamentation
Stone, bronze and glass
Regular, rhythmic composition
C.R. Mackintosh, Glasgow School of Art
1898-1909
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Vernacular, asymmetrical, sculptural, playful
restrained Art Nouveau ornamentation
Stone, rough cast, plate glass, iron, steel, concrete
Abstract, cubist composition
Stylistic context continued…
Mackintosh’s interiors were strikingly different to the typical late Victorian rooms of his day.
Late Victorian drawing room
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Busy, cluttered appearance
Dark, heavy upholstery
Patterned wallpaper, rugs, carpets
Heavily ornamented to display wealth
Layers of curtains to keep the light out
Variety of period styles
Elaboration, artiface, accumulation
The Mackintosh House drawing room
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Sparce, serene, spacious appearance
White furniture, delicate and refined
white wall surfaces, curtains and carpets
A few, carefully chosen ornaments
Simple curtain to enhance and soften light
One single, unified stylistic environment
simplicity, natural materials, restraint, economy
Stylistic features and influences
The influence of Japanese art and design.
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Structure is clearly expressed
Clean lines and abstract geometric design
Simplicity, spaciousness and serenity
Use of screens to articulate space
Space given equal importance to structure
Stylistic features and influences
The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late Victorian era:
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Heavy stonework or roughcast finish
Tall slim windows, turret-like forms
Asymmetrical planning and massing
Construction materials are clearly expressed
Severe, sober, austere appearance
Design for practicality rather than artifice
Inspired by vernacular forms rather than foreign styles
Symbolist handcrafted ornamentation
Stylistic features and influences
The influence of Art Nouveau in the 1890’s
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Ornamentation based on abstracted natural
motifs with curved and flowing lines
Exposed, ornamental stone and iron work
Unified design of all elements of the building
The Glasgow School of Art
Features of this building that show a
development toward a modern style
are:
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The arrangement of rooms of
different sizes and heights and at
different levels within the building.
Stairs, corridors and rooms are
modeled as if from a continuous
volume of space, not a separated
entities.
The exterior composition is partly
dictated by the arrangement of
interior spaces (and hence the
building’s function) rather than vice
versa.
The main façade features large,
unadorned, steel-framed windows
that flood the studios with light.
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The inspiration for the building
came from regional farm
buildings and baronial halls.
This interest in the structural
honesty, unadorned simplicity
and functionality of local
building traditions is a
precursor of modernity.
The restrained use of
ornament, in the form of
abstracted motifs in the
ironwork of the railings, fence
and cleaning brackets on the
main façade, is also a move
toward modernism.
The effect of the library with its
structural clarity, stripped
rectangular forms, open spatial
effect and the independence of
the verticality of the library
windows that unify multiple
levels of space are central to
the modern movement.
- The Mackintosh House Click here to view the official website of this house and to find answers to the
following questions about this building’s context and style:
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How did Mackintosh increase the spaciousness of the entrance hallway?
State TWO Japanese influences present in the dining room.
From where did the dining room chairs originate?
For what reason did Mackintosh design his dining chairs with such high
backs?
Identify TWO rooms where Mackintosh opened up space by removing
walls.
The bedroom is completely white except for touches of what three
colours?
Identify THREE elements of Art Nouveau style evident in the bedroom.
State THREE words to describe the mood or feeling of the drawing room
(living room).
Contrast THREE aspects of this drawing room with typical late Victorian
drawing rooms of the time.
Identify FOUR different furnishings or fixtures that the Mackintoshs’
brought with them into this house from their earlier residence at 120
Mains Street.