The Hill House (pp. 12-49) is one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's most significant works, one of Scotland's most acclaimed buildings, and a seminal example of early 20th-century European architecture. Built in 1902 for the publisher Walter Blackie and his young family, it is situated in Helensburgh, 30 km west of Glasgow, and commands panoramic views over River Clyde Estuary. My first visit to The Hill House was during my first year of architecture school in 1990, as part of a class field trip to study Glasgow's architecture. A visit to the house was then part of a well-trodden pilgrimage to most of Mackintosh's limited, but fairly well-preserved built work in and around Glasgow. While I was familiar with Mackintosh's beguiling perspective drawings of the house, and perhaps conscious of some of its published interior photography, experiencing the house in person made a profound impression. I recall the stark composition of weighty forms in grayish rendering, and its emphatic presence within the exposure of the Scottish landscape and unyielding weather. In contrast to its context, this architecture demonstrated a defiant presence and appeared to be designed and built to last forever. My next visit to The Hill House would be more than a quarter century later, as part of an organized tour for architects who would compete to build a small, temporary visitors' center beside this world-renowned house, a contest that later evolved into a Dolder vision to meet the challenges of keeping The Hill House alive while essential and overdue repairs are undertaken.
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