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i n s t i t u t e   o f  a r t  &   d e s i g n 
 

GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART - CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH
1896-1909
 
 

"The only true modern art in proportion, in form and in colour is produced by an emotion, produced by a frank and intelligent understanding of the absolute and the true requirements of a building or object - a scientific knowledge of the possibilities and beauties of material, a fearless application of emotion and knowledge, a cultured intelligence, and a mind artistic yet not too indolent to attempt the task of forms and conditions that modern development of life - social, commercial and religious - insist upon." -CRM

Analyzing this plan is a testimony to the art that is architecture.  It simply sings with ingenuity.  Although rather simple, there is nothing elementary in its composition when one considers an asymmetrical symmetry and an integrity to the decoration that is never deviates even mildly from complete concurrence.  The library (tinted purple in section above right) is such an example.  As the place sacred from wet canvases and dripping plaster, it received considerable attention to detail and style from Mackintosh.  It is even said to have earned him the title of pioneering the Modern Movement.  The library's structure appears at first glance to be frivolous, with paired exposed columns seemingly serving no purpose except an aesthetic delineation of the gallery above.  However, a closer look at the section reveals such treatment as a sensitive solution to supporting the floors above the library galleries.  Similarly, the mechanical systems are intricately woven into the plan without compromise, and are positioned underneath the corridors, tinted green in the plans above.  The red tint is highlight to delineate the tricks of symmetry that Mackintosh synthesizes in both plan and elevation.  These intricacies are woven into the facades magically and efficiently offer a solution to a building that was in fact built in stages.  Note the imbalance of bays on the principal facade and the asymmetry of the entrance, although the main stair is indeed on-centre.

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