Looking at Buildings

neo-TudorGlossary Term [1] without, ClassicalGlossary Term [2] within); and the interiors show little real movement towards ModernismGlossary Term [3]. Why, then, is it so significant in the developing British Modern Movement? Firstly, as Pevsner says, the styles are used with a "freedom instigated by Mackintosh's Glasgow Art School" - juxtaposed, stripped down and stylised. Secondly, for the innovative exterior composition and handling of volume and mass, especially the south and east facades.

The entrance vestibule and staircase tower are at the east end, three floors of public spaces to the north, with offices and storage to the south on five floors, taking advantage of the sloping site. There is a central lightGlossary Term [4] well, and glass panels are set in some floors to illuminate the lower levels. The budget was not extravagant for a building of this size and complexity. Holden overcame this by using brick on steel framing, with facings of Bath stone. Internal ornament is kept to a minimum, and much is executed in plaster; but quality is never skimped. All the carpentry and furniture was designed by Holden and executed in durable teak, and the well-known London craftsman William Aumonier did most of the stone carving.