In celebration of the 150th birthday of influential Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh this week, we're looking back at five projects that defined his career. Next up is his most famous building, the Glasgow School of Art. The art school is described by the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society as the architect's "masterwork", as it seamlessly merges numerous eclectic references that would appear throughout the architect's career, in its timeless, unique and idiosyncratic design. Mackintosh was working as a junior draughtsman at the practice of Honeyman and Keppie when it was awarded the project to design a new building for the rapidly expanding art school in 1896. At the time, the school was recognised as one of Europe's leading art academies and was central to Glasgow's emergence as a centre for the creative arts. Mackintosh himself had previously attended evening classes at the school during his architectural apprenticeship. Although Keppie is the architect of record, and received much of the credit for the project at the time, the design of the Glasgow School of Art is unmistakably that of Mackintosh, who was 29 years old when construction began. A mixture of influences that were to define the architect's later career can be detected in the building's form and detailing, ranging from Scottish baronial and medieval architecture, to Japonisme and the work of contemporary architects like Norman Shaw and CFA Voysey. Due to the initial lack of funds required to complete the building in the way Mackintosh and the school's headmaster, Francis Newbery, intended, it was constructed in two distinct phases. The first phase of construction between 1897 and 1899 saw the completion of the central and eastern sections, including the museum, headmaster's room and boardroom. Related story Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House was designed from the inside out The northern facade was designed with the entrance at the centre, which is reached by a sweeping set of steps. Large windows set into gridded frames and accentuated by delicate ironwork flood the internal studio spaces with even northern light. The headmaster's room is positioned above the entrance, with a balcony crossing an oriel window. Above that is his studio, which is accessed by a stair tower that extends beyond the roofline like a castle's turret. By the time of the second phase of construction between 1907 and 1909, Mackintosh was a partner in the firm. The delay enabled him to amend the design to include new second-floor studios, and workshops in the sub-basement, as well as introducing a more 20th-century look and feel influenced by the emergence of modernist ideas. In contrast to the austere, roughcast facades of the south and east sections, the west wing features a far livelier design, with dramatic oriel windows projecting out from the sandstone surfaces towards the street below. The school itself describes the innovative design of this section of the building as "heralding the birth of a new style in 20th-century European architecture." The west wing accommodates the school's most famous room – the Mackintosh Library – which was constructed around a complex framework of timber posts and beams influenced by traditional Japanese architecture. The library also featured decorative details including short balustrades between a gallery and the wooden uprights that were enamelled in bright colours, and a cluster of electric lights that cascaded from the centre of the ceiling. Since its completion, the Mackintosh building has functioned as a home for the school's fine art students and staff, and has been praised for how well its spaces continue to function more than 100 years on from its completion. In 2014, the building was damaged by a fire, which was reportedly started by an exploding projector in the basement. The fire travelled up the west side of the building and across the roof, completely destroying the library. Reports in the immediate aftermath suggested that the majority of the building's structure was saved, along with most of its contents. In 2015, Scottish studio Page/Park Architects was appointed to oversee the restoration of the building, which is anticipated to complete in spring 2019. The fire occurred during the build up to the school's annual degree show, and just a couple of months after the completion of a new building designed by American architect Steven Holl on the Garnethill Campus. Holl's Reid Building features a geometric matte-glass exterior that contrasts with the sandstone facades of its historic antecedent. The architect claimed his intervention was intended to forge a "symbiotic relationship" with the Mackintosh Building. In a series of movies about the design of the Reid Building, Holl suggested that he drew inspiration from Mackintosh's use of light when developing his proposal. He also added that, just like Mackintosh, he had to ignore criticism of his bold concept from the media in order not to "ruin the design". "In that way it does connect to Mackintosh; his building was a shock in 1904 and it could only be done then, and this building could only be done now," he claimed. Images are courtesy of McAteer Photograph and the Glasgow School of Art.<doc-sep>At the outbreak of World War One, Mackintosh was run out of the seaside town where he was staying because he was suspected of being a spy and he relocated to shabby flat in London.<doc-sep>To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Charles Rennie Mackintosh we are looking back at his most significant works. Next up is the House for an Art Lover, which remained unbuilt during the architect's lifetime. Originally a disqualified entry in a magazine-run competition to design a country house, the drawings of House for an Art Lover helped build Mackintosh's international reputation, and were eventually used to realise the building more than 60 years after his death. In 1901, Mackintosh and his wife, the artist Margaret Macdonald, entered a competition organised by German design magazine Zeitschrift Fur Innendekoration to create a large country house for a connoisseur of the arts. The competition brief stated that only "genuinely original modern designs will be considered", and stipulated that art should be incorporated into the design of the interior, rather than housed in a dedicated gallery space. The organisers also suggested that architects consider teaming up with artists to develop their proposals. This suited Mackintosh perfectly, as he and Macdonald regularly collaborated on his projects. The duo's submission was ultimately disqualified as they failed to include adequate perspective drawings of the interior. However, the designs were published by the man behind the competition, Alexander Koch helping to establish Mackintosh's international reputation as a pioneer of the new modern style. In 1989, Graham Roxburgh, an engineer who had worked on the restoration of Mackintosh's 1897 project Craigie Hall, conceived and developed the idea of building the House for an Art Lover on a site in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park. Related story Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House was designed from the inside out A team of architects led by professor Andy MacMillan, who was then head of architecture at the Glasgow School of Art, helped to translate Mackintosh's original competition drawings into technical plans. The building's exterior and much of the interior were completed in 1990, but the onset of a recession meant that the project came to a temporary halt, before starting up again in 1994 and finally opening to the public in 1996. The design of House for an Art Lover is said to be an attempt by Mackintosh to evoke an ocean liner placed in the landscape. It features a horizontal emphasis expressed through the window placement and a large terrace lining the drawing room. Ideas that are common across Mackintosh's future residential projects, including Windyhill and the influential Hill House, are evident in the building's form and materiality. These include the massing of simple forms, resulting in a composition of unadorned planes and openings determined by the interior layout. The building's interior features a typical sequence of contrasting dark, masculine spaces and light, feminine rooms. The principal rooms were all designed to be south facing to maximise the exposure to sunlight. A long galleried corridor provides access to a study, an oval ladies' sitting room and the huge drawing room, which adjoins a music room that can be used separately or combined into a single space. The rooms constructed during the 1990s are representative of the Mackintoshes' style and encompass many of the ideas that recur throughout their work, including wood panelling inset with coloured glass, decorative gesso panels, and organic motifs incorporated into the carpets and furniture. Those involved in realising the House for an Art Lover insist that it is not a genuine Mackintosh building, but rather a study of one of his designs and a celebration of his continuing legacy. Today, the House for an Art Lover is one of Glasgow's most popular cultural destinations, combining art galleries and exhibition spaces with an events venue, cafe, gift shop and multipurpose artists studios. Photography courtesy of Glasgow Mackintosh group, apart from where otherwise stated.<doc-sep>To mark 150 years since the birth of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, we're looking back at five influential projects that defined his career. We round off our celebration with the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow. Regarded as Mackintosh's most complete interior design, Willow Tea Rooms is the best surviving example of a tea room designed by the architect. Having already worked on the interiors for Catherine Cranston's tea rooms at Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Ingram Street, in 1903 Mackintosh was asked to oversee every aspect of the design for a new premises on Sauchiehall Street. Unlike previous projects for Cranston, this time the architect was able to address both the exterior and interior of the building – a terraced house that was largely gutted to allow for its transformation into the tea rooms. Mackintosh had all the mouldings removed from the building's facade, which was then painted white to create a bold, modern statement that set it apart from its more traditional neighbours. He added a curved section to the second and third floors that accentuated the unusually deep window reveals, and introduced landscape windows on the ground and first floors. Internally, Mackintosh worked with his wife, Margaret Macdonald, to create every aspect of the space, from the furniture and light fittings, to carpets and wall decorations. Even details such as cutlery, signboards and staff uniforms were bespoke creations, developed to ensure a consistent experience for customers. The interior plan saw a ladies' tea room situated at the front of the ground floor, with a lunch room to the rear. A vaulted room on the first floor was transformed into the grand Salon de Luxe, while further rooms upstairs became the men's billiards and smoking rooms. The Willow Tea Rooms incorporated many of the ideas Mackintosh and Macdonald had applied previously in the design of other projects, including the use of dark and light materials to lend different rooms a more masculine or feminine character. Of all the spaces Mackintosh designed for Cranston, the Salon de Luxe was the most complete and lavishly decorated. Its predominantly light interior featured accents of silver, grey and pink, with a mirrored frieze running along the tops of the walls helping to enhance the bright and spacious feel. The theme of the willow tree was influenced by a sonnet called O Ye, All Ye That Walk in Willow Wood by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This informed the organic decorations applied to the stained-glass windows, a mirrored frieze and a door leading to the Salon de Luxe. Related story Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Argyle Chair was designed for intimate dining As he had at previous premises including the Ingram Street and Argyle Street tea room, Mackintosh designed high-backed chairs to subdivide the space. Eight chairs that were painted silver and upholstered in purple velvet surrounded two tables at the centre of the room, creating a sense of privacy for the diners seated there. The chair backs were punctured by a pattern of pink-glass squares, which was echoed in the geometric decoration of the grey carpet at the centre of the room. Mackintosh also designed another of his best-known pieces of furniture for the Willow Tea Rooms – a large, sculptural chair with a latticework back based on the stylised shape of a willow tree. The chair was used by the manageress to created an architectural division between the front and back salons. Its curved form softened the otherwise rigid geometric design and formed an embracing enclosure around the sitter. The Willow Tea Rooms, along with the rest of Cranston's salons, were a huge success and were lauded for their innovative interiors. Over subsequent years, Mackintosh would revise his designs for these spaces and experiment with new ideas including the introduction of bright colours influenced by the artists of the Viennese Secession. In 1917, Mackintosh completed his final commission in Glasgow – a basement extension for the Willow Tea Rooms, named The Dug Out in reference to the trenches of the first world war that was being fought at the time. Related story V&A Dundee secures funding to rebuild lost Charles Rennie Mackintosh tearoom The subterranean spaces of The Dug Out featured geometric patterns in primary colours, with a chrome-yellow settle upholstered in purple fabric creating a bold statement alongside a pair of vibrant paintings by Margaret. Following the death of Cranston's husband in 1917, she sold her businesses including the Willow Tea Rooms. The tea room continued to operate, being incorporated into a department store in 1928 until its closure in the early 1980s. It was reopened in 1983 and continued to operate until 2014 when its owners went into receivership and the building was purchased by the The Willow Tea Rooms Trust. Following a £10 million renovation supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund the tea rooms will reopen in July 2018 under the name of Mackintosh at the Willow. Images are courtesy of Annan Photographs unless stated otherwise.<doc-sep>
On the 150th anniversary of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's birth, we continue our roundup of his most influential projects, by taking a look at the chair he created for the Argyle Street Tea Rooms. While Mackintosh is best know for his architectural works, including the Glasgow School of Art, Hill House and House for an Art Lover, he also designed much of their decor and furnishings. One of the most important figures in Mackintosh's career was Catherine Cranston – a patron who allowed him to showcase his talent as a designer and was appreciative of his all-encompassing approach. Cranston was a Glasgow-based businesswoman with a passion for the arts, who came up with the idea of opening a series of tea rooms in the city with artistic interiors. Having already established a successful tea room on Argyle Street, she invited Mackintosh to work alongside architect and designer George Walton on the interiors of a new premises in Buchanan Street in 1896. The following year, Mackintosh and Walton collaborated again on the design of Cranston's Argyle Street Tea Rooms, with Mackintosh focusing on the furnishings. It was the first major private commission of his career and an opportunity to implement some of his ideas regarding the use of furniture to create a feeling of enclosure and spatial separation within a room. One of the pieces Mackintosh designed for the project was a high-backed chair for the Luncheon Room that aimed to held provide a more intimate dining experience for diners. The Argyle Chair features long, tapering uprights that intersected with an enlarged oval headrest. The stylised shape of a swallow in flight was carved out of the headrest to lend it an artistic and emblematic quality. Related story House for an Art Lover was built 60 years after Charles Rennie Mackintosh's death The chair's combination of simple and sculptural elements with an emphasis on natural forms echoed the ideas propounded by the Arts and Crafts movement, of which Mackintosh was an admirer. Its extraordinary back legs are a complex piece of woodworking, with a form that starts off square at the base before curving and gradually tapering to become circular at the top. The unusual height of the chairs meant that they formed a screen around the tables, creating the feeling of a room within a room. It was a technique that Mackintosh would explore and refine further in several of his later furniture designs. In 1900, the Argyle Chair was exhibited at the Eighth Exhibition of the Vienna Secession in Austria, where Mackintosh's work was held in high regard and strongly influenced the work of the artists, architects and designers of the Wiener Werkstatte community. Mackintosh would go on to design the furniture and interiors for several more of Cranston's premises, including the iconic Willow Tea Rooms. The pair remained good friends and he would eventually create the interiors for her Hous'hill in 1904. Images are courtesy of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, photography by Ryan Hernandez. Feature image courtesy of Glasgow Mackintosh group.