September 28 2021

A suit of armour built to protect The Hill House in Helensburgh from the elements has won a RIAS/Scottish Government client of the year award.

Designed by Carmody Groarke the climbable gantry was commissioned by The National Trust for Scotland to end decades of water damage caused by a porous portland cement finish that threatened the imminent collapse of the structure.

The dual-purpose build also draws visitors beyond the art nouveau walls of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's finest surviving work with high-level walkways turning the house into a museum exhibit, offering visitors a fresh perspective on the landmark as well as breathing space for conservationists to find a permanent solution.

RIAS president Christina Gaiger PRIAS said: “Not so long ago it looked as if the future was bleak for The Hill House. It would have been unthinkable to lose Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece, and it’s thanks to the bravery of the National Trust for Scotland and the imagination of Carmody Groarke that its future is now secure. Together, their imaginative and radical approach has ensured vital conservation work can happen while bringing the public up close to this fascinating process."

Ending an unsustainable cycle of closures and temporary repairs the emergency work protects the building from the worst the West coast weather can throw at it, reducing moisture in the walls and housing a new cafe and shop.

Photography by Johan Dehlin

6 Comments

#1 Posted by monkey9000 on 28 Sep 2021 at 09:22 AM

Another option would be to repair the hill house with modern materials and detailing while staying true to the original aesthetic. Instead it is encased while academics debate what to do for another 10 years.

#2 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 28 Sep 2021 at 10:05 AM

The structure is in danger of overshadowing -- pun intended -- the house that it has been set up to protect.

Huge future for this type of building as a cheap covered sports pitch where the worst of the weather is kept outside and team sports can be played constructively through the winter.

Playing youth football in November in a howling gale with horizontal rain is a form physical torture that the Geneva Convention would ban in any other walk of life.

Big / cheap steel frame with chain mail sides would be a cost effective way of providing indoor pitches -- the economics of the Ravenscraig solution is not credible.

#3 Posted by SneckieMun on 28 Sep 2021 at 10:37 AM

Whilst I haven't hit the bottle as early as #2 as today, I think we should all take a step back and recognise this as the scaffolding it is.

The award is for Client of the Year and is awarded to NTS for protecting one of its most famous assets. Does this merit an award or should it be par for the course for NTS?

#4 Posted by Glasgow Bob on 28 Sep 2021 at 21:09 PM

NTS? More likely YTS scaffolders.
Should we demand it get listed?

#5 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 29 Sep 2021 at 11:07 AM

Middle class scaffolding vs self supporting structure -- Discuss?

I still think that the structure will have other uses -- covered football pitch being one of them.

#6 Posted by lm on 29 Sep 2021 at 22:25 PM

This is so rubbish and cheap. I really don't know how this happened. Other countries are moving forward, saving historical buildings, loving old buildings. I hope one day someone is going to save the building because this cage thing is shameful.

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