Glasgow School of Art
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
1896-9
Renfrew Street, Glasgow
Other Views and Related Material
Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee
Despite or even because of its uphill backstreet setting, this building has achieved iconic status. It was recently judged the finest building of the last 175 years by RIBA, after a poll of both professional and public opinion. Hugh Pearman, editor of the RIBA Journal, explained that it is "rooted in its urban context, and is a total work of art, from concept to fine detail," adding, "the building is superb, has stood the test of time magnificently, and is the deserved winner." The final choice had been between Mackintosh's design and the Crystal Palace, which tells us much (in case we need to be reminded) about the hugely innovative architecture of the Victorian period. The verdict was no real surprise. Writing nearly twenty years ago, the architectural historian James Stevens Curl accounted for something of the School of Art's extraordinary impact when he described its north front as having "certain Art-Nouveau elements judiciously mixed with a tough Scottish native style of building and motifs taken from factories, warehouses and the buildings of the Arts-and-Crafts Domestic Revival" (140).
Sources
Pearman, Hugh. Leader, RIBA Journal, June 2009. Viewed 9 July 2009.
Curl, James Stevens. Victorian Architecture. Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1990.
Last modified 9 July 2009