Mackintosh designs that never made it off the page
Mackintosh drew up plans for a host of buildings that never saw the light of day, including a design for a concert hall that bears a remarkable resemblance to the Hydro
No one has left their mark on Glasgow quite like Charles Rennie Mackintosh has.
Rightly heralded as one of the most innovative architects of the 20th century, the buildings he designed that stand tall in the city encourage visits from people from far and wide in pilgrimage to appreciate his genius.
And while the likes of The Lighthouse, the House for An Art Lover, Scotland Street School Museum and the Mackintosh church are all well known tributes to his originality, foresight and spirit of creation, they should also be looked at in tandem with the designs that never went past the drawing board.
The unbuilt Mackintosh gems that would no doubt have furthered his legacy and brought about a new level of architectural beauty to a city in Glasgow that already bears witness to his genius.
Competition entry designs that were brought to life in model form and exhibited within The Lighthouse and the House for An Art Lover in recent years.
Here’s our list of some of those designs:
Glasgow International Exhibition 1901 Competition: Design for a Concert Hall
Mackintosh submitted two designs for a concert hall as part a submission for an industrial hall and concert hall for the Glasgow International Exhibition Competition in 1901.
One was conventional and one ground-breaking in every shape and form, and it’s the latter, known as the Alternative Concert Hall, which surprises in just how much it looks like Glasgow’s uber popular Hydro arena.
Darran Anderson
✔@Oniropolis
Mackintosh has a wealth of great unbuilt works, of which his 1898 concert hall is of particular WTF value
Glasgow International Exhibition 1901 Competition: Design for an Industrial Hall
His unsuccessful submission for an symmetrical Industrial Hall feaTures a large dome as it’s centrepiece, alongside a variety of non-traditional window shapes.
For such a large and long building, it’s interesting to note that almost every decorative motif was unique.
Glasgow International Exhibition 1901 Competition: Design for a Grand Hall
This rectangular hall design was to be built in timber, featuring a gabled oblong with corner towers and a pitched roof carried on arched trusses.
Glasgow International Exhibition 1901 Competition: Design for a Bar and Dining Room
Mackintosh also submitted a design for a bar and dining room as part of a a submission for the Glasgow International Exhibition Competition in 1901.
The refreshment rooms were square in nature with a horseshoe shaped bar, a long, narrow dining room on the first floor and a roof garden above the bar.
1892 Student design for a Railway Terminus
This was Mackintosh’s unsuccessful entry in the 1892–3 competition for the Soane Medallion, a student prize awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Mackintosh’s was the only Gothic design submitted.
The design is symmetrical, with a central double-height booking hall flanked by two-storey wings containing waiting rooms and offices. The platforms were enclosed under a single-span roof of glass and iron while, externally, the most striking feature was the pair of tall clock towers, likened to ‘minarets on a fairytale castle’.
