98 DIGS.NET
|
12.13.2019
L E G E N D S | T H E H I L L H O U S E
THE BOX, AN
INNOVATIVE
ARCHITECTURAL
INTERVENTION
CREATED TO
SAFEGUARD THE
HISTORIC HILL HOUSE,
IS AN EXAMPLE OF
CLASSIC GLASGOW
STYLE DESIGNED BY
SCOTTISH ARCHITECT
CHARLES RENNIE
MACKINTOSH. THIS
SOLUTION PROTECTS
THE BUILDING FROM
ENVIRONMENTAL
ELEMENTS TO
PROLONG ITS FUTURE
FOR GENERATIONS TO
ENJOY. PHOTOGRAPHS
COURTESY OF THE
NATIONAL TRUST FOR
SCOTLAND.
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A progressive architectural solution, thoughtfully engineered to safeguard
a national treasure in Scotland, is a first in the world.
W R I T T E N B Y J E N N T H O R N T O N
A PR ESERVATION LA NDM A R K
T
he Hill House had seen better days when its steward, the National Trust for Scotland, first
conceived of a solution to protect it, the Box. In the annals of architectural intervention,
this concept is actually so far out of any box at all that it should be seen as pioneering as
e Hill House was when it was designed in 1902, with the optimism of a new century by architect
Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Why such lengths for a structure so battered by the elements that the only
way to save it was to encase the whole thing in a steel frame covered with chain mail? Realize this is a
consideration that could only exist in a country other than its own.
"e Hill House is supremely important to Scotland and around the world as an example of Mackintosh's
domestic architecture," explains Emma Inglis, curator at the National Trust for Scotland. e architect
looked to both to the past and to the future, from exciting European artists and architects, like Gustav
Klimt and Josef Hoffmann, to his Scottish roots, to create his own unique architectural blueprint. Pared
back and contemporary with comfort at its heart, e Hill House has turrets and curved stairs that imitate
Scottish Baronial style, and simple squared window lines and a lack of embellishment that hinted at a
more modern world. Using cement roughcast was a new and daring choice for the day, as roughcast was
traditionally associated with low-class building types, but it helped settle the house into the landscape
and showed Mackintosh pushing the boundaries of new materials. e house is a quintessential example
of classic Glasgow Style, as well, evident in its colored glass and metal light fittings, plain oak chairs
worked with strong lattice designs, textiles embroidered with sinuous elongated female figures. Within
the internal architecture of the house are typical motifs such as hearts, squares and dominant vertical lines,
and stylized representations of flowers, including the Glasgow Rose.
