Charles Rennie Mackintosh & Co.: 1854 to 2004

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was the third partner of John Honeyman and Keppie, the architectural practice now called Keppie Design which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2004. In this volume its current managing director, David Stark, explores the development of the practice and its legacy of buildings across the West of Scotland and beyond, including those from the influential Mackintosh years. But this isn’t just another dry book about buildings, it’s also the story of Victorian industrialists, their often outrageous wealth and opulent lifestyles. We learn about Kate Cranston and her famous tea rooms and of lesser known but significant architectural names such as John Keppie and Graham Henderson. From the white heat of Victorian industrial and economic activity and the resultant flurry of building activity, churches, charitable institutions, town houses and country villas, the story moves through more difficult years for the architectural profession with a candour not often found in company histories. It is brought into the present era with an examination of current trends and recent projects at a time when architecture and design are once again beginning to flourish.