The architectural attitude rife in the nineteenth century could be seen in the same way as the sort of attitude one affiliates with an adolescent; irrational and assertive. People thought they were called upon to invent a style (Frampton 2002) to invent a style indelibly its own (Bergdoll 2000). Though this ‘style’ (attitude) materialised itself in a variety of different ways...
The external expression of a building like a person is easy to prejudge, though when confronted with something quite different one is curious. The Templeton Carpet Company Factory bears strong semblance to the fifteenth century Doge’s Palace in Venice, which according to Berry Bergdoll (2000) served as the spring board for an impassioned condemnation of the modern factory system. Though this is in reference to factories, long governed by pragmatic utilitarianism it is droll to see the Templeton Carpet ‘Factory’ as the epitome of what the Doge’s Palace was seen to condemn. This elevation represents an attitude prevalent in business and industry in the nineteenth century; the attitude, that through the manipulation of architectural imagery (Bergdoll 2000) one could give the impression of establishment and pedigree – the building was used as a label and as a brand. And this image was seen as enticing to the rapidly expanding market of consumerists. A professor of the London School of Architecture ounce said: the Clients brief is nearly always wrong, and a bad brief inevitably results in disastrous architecture (Collins 1998). That is not to say that the Templeton Carpet Factory is an example of ‘disastrous architecture’ it is more to say that the ‘architectural attitude’ was predestined by the Client. They wanted this ‘image’ and imposed that on William Leiper, the architect.
In the 1860’s architects were becoming more aware of the... new building types... of their century to such an extent that they started to neglect external expression (Collins 1998) concentrating entirely on planning, where the facade was thrown in as an afterthought. What they neglected to realise was that an efficient plan could produce not merely a good elevation but an expressive elevation (Collins 1998) Mackintosh was a firm believer in form not belying internal function, as this can instil understanding in the beholder - after all art matters if only all can share it (Pevsner 1942) But being party to Ruskin’s advocacy for masonry - in believing that materials such as iron and glass could never surpass the presence of masonry, produced interesting results with regards to the Glasgow School of Arts’ West elevation. The formidable core of stone evocative of a castle denoting the entrance, adds that weight and presence mackintosh always sort for.
The attitude presented in the Glasgow school of Art (GSA) is the antithesis of the Templeton Carpet Factory; the factory; consumerism and pretention, the Art school; honesty and freedom.
