{"id":771204,"date":"2025-01-22T11:50:49","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T11:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=771204"},"modified":"2025-01-22T13:54:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T13:54:13","slug":"architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house","title":{"rendered":"Architects sought for new visitor centre at Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Category A-listed masterpiece, designed with his wife Margaret Macdonald and originally built as a home for publisher Walter Blackie in 1902, is currently wrapped in a transparent box to protect it during restoration works.<\/p>\n<p>Last month <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nts.org.uk\/stories\/funding-win-marks-anniversary-of-mackintosh-acquisition\">NTS<\/a> secured a \u00a31.1 million package of initial development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, some of which will be used on drawing up designs for new visitor facilities, as part of its wider Mackintosh Illuminated project.<\/p>\n<p>This programme, which aims to shine a spotlight on the \u2018creative genius\u2019 of the design duo, also includes a focus on the pair\u2019s 1903 Category A-listed Willow tearoom in Glasgow\u2019s Sauchiehall Street, which the conservation charity acquired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/mackintosh-tea-rooms-saved-from-closure-five-years-after-10m-revamp\">a year ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The funding package is the first stage of a larger \u00a37.3 million lottery award and NTS said the monies will allow it to continue the ongoing conservation work at Hill House.<\/p>\n<p>Afflicted with chronic damp, the landmark will remain under the Carmody Groarke-designed transparent box for another three years. Installed in 2019, this pioneering wrap-around \u2018porous cage\u2019 is designed to let the house slowly dry out.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_639346\" class=\" wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-639346\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/09\/30081021\/Carmody-Groarke_Hill-House-Box_C_Johan-Dehlin_07-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2049\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">2021 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award finalist: The Hill House Box, Helensburgh, by Carmody Groarke<\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 2570px;\">Source:Johan Dehlin<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page-divider\">The trust said: \u2018This new funding will enable [us] to move forward with the full removal of the current render, to find a replacement which will resolve the longstanding damp issue, remove the box in 2028 and provide updated, permanent visitor facilities, including a caf\u00e9, shop and toilet facilities at the site on Upper Colquhoun Street in Helensburgh.\u2019<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The AJ understands its is unlikely the new visitor centre will be built before the shroud is dismantled but that the hunt for a design team will start within the next few months, with an appointment due this summer.<\/p>\n<p>The NTS said it continues to work with architects LDN and engineers Narro Associates on completing a \u2018research and development exercise on the material and physical issues affecting the house\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson said: \u2018Those findings formed a major component of the [lottery funding] application.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018As part of the bid, we explored issues of scale, facilities, location and fabrication methods of the new visitor centre. [However] we look forward to the creativity of the new team to explore that further and provide the Trust with options to decide on.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The NTS said the procurement for the new design team would be \u2018openly advertised\u2019 and that it had considered the option of a possible competition.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson added: \u2018The route this procurement takes has not been finalised yet but is under discussion. A competition would be an advantage in terms of raising profile. We are also keen to maintain a momentum on the project and its programme, and this is also a key factor in the route we will decide to take.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Liz Davidson, the NTS\u2019s project director at Hill House said: \u2018We are very excited by the opportunities that the Mackintosh Illuminated project will provide to share, celebrate and inspire as many as possible with the creative genius of Mackintosh and Macdonald, at both Hill House and Mackintosh at the Willow.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>At the Hill House, Macintosh sought a modern interpretation of a traditional Scottish tower house with characteristic slate roofing, roughcast walls, prominent gables, and similar features. The house was gifted to the Trust in 1982 and is the finest surviving example of his domestic properties.<\/p>\n<p>Carmody Groarke landed the job to build the box <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/carmody-groarke-wins-contest-for-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in 2017<\/a> following a contest in which it was selected ahead of Denizen Works. Work began on site at the end of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/work-starts-on-carmody-groarkes-see-through-shield-over-mackintoshs-hill-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline_image image_size_full fullsize\" data-attachment=\"3156140\" data-sequence=\"22\">\n<p class=\"picture\"><span class=\"fullsize\" title=\"Show fullscreen\">\u00a0<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/26141143\/226_250_p_20_01_groundfloorplan_edit_660-1.jpg\" alt=\"226 250 p 20 01 ground floor plan edit\" width=\"660\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline_image image_size_full fullsize\" data-attachment=\"3156144\" data-sequence=\"26\">\n<p class=\"picture\"><span class=\"fullsize\" title=\"Show fullscreen\">\u00a0<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/26141144\/226_250_p_30_00_sections01_edit_660-1.jpg\" alt=\"226 250 p 30 00 sections 01 edit\" width=\"660\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Category A-listed masterpiece, designed with his wife Margaret Macdonald and originally built as a home for publisher Walter Blackie in 1902, is currently wrapped in a transparent box to protect it during restoration works. Last month NTS secured a \u00a31.1 million package of initial development funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, some of &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":915,"featured_media":771450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[2812,3293,3295,1507,5719,3294],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Architects sought for new visitor centre at Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is set to launch a search for an architect to design a visitor centre at Charles Rennie Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House in Helensburgh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Architects sought for new visitor centre at Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is set to launch a search for an architect to design a visitor centre at Charles Rennie Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House in Helensburgh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-22T11:50:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-22T13:54:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/21150203\/Carmody-Groarke_Hill-House-Box_C_Johan-Dehlin_07-scaled-1-1024x820.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Waite\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/waitey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard Waite\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house\",\"name\":\"Architects sought for new visitor centre at Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-22T11:50:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-22T13:54:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/c098c74851864737ad4fa4e50861cf8c\"},\"description\":\"The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) is set to launch a search for an architect to design a visitor centre at Charles Rennie Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House in Helensburgh\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/architects-sought-for-new-visitor-centre-at-mackintoshs-hill-house#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Architects sought for new visitor centre at Mackintosh\u2019s Hill House\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News &amp; 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