Overview

The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society (CRMS), and DSB are delighted to announce their collaboration with the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) to offer Architecture students studying at the Mackintosh School of Architecture the opportunity to apply for a £2000 scholarship to contribute towards travel costs to undertake academic research related to the architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society is an independent, non-profit making charity, established in 1973 to promote and encourage awareness of the Scottish architect and designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The Society has around 1000 members across the world with active affiliate groups arranging local events in, London and the SE, and Japan, and an associate group in Port Vendres.

In 1999, the Society became owner and long-term custodian of Queen’s Cross Church (now known as ‘Mackintosh Queen’s Cross’). This is the only church built to CRM’s design, A listed and a national treasure for Scotland – a key element in showcasing and promoting the legacy of Mackintosh. 

For nearly 50 years the Society has promoted the works of CRM around the world, protecting, enhancing, and interpreting the works – becoming a respected voice in the preservation and promotion of Mackintosh internationally. The CRM Society provides a watching brief on Mackintosh buildings, providing an independent campaigning role to address lack of maintenance or investment.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh gained the commission in 1896 to design the Glasgow School of Art, also known as Mackintosh’s masterpiece. Whilst studying at the GSA, Mackintosh won the prestigious Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship in 1890 that financially supported him to undertake an architectural sketching tour of Italy.  This exciting new Mackintosh/DSB Travelling Scholarship is set against the background of Mackintosh’s travelling experience where he recorded his impressions in over 200 pencil drawings and watercolours and is open to eligible students for travel to undertake academic research based on their research proposal.  

In 2019 the Mackintosh Society received a generous gift with an interesting philanthropic proposition from long-term members Deirdre and Stan Bernard. Passionate supporters of both educational endeavour and the Mackintosh Society they wanted to offer a prize fund for Society competitions. Their
idea for supporting creativity and exploratory research evolved from an architectural competition judged in February 2020, to the creation of the annual Mackintosh Society/DSB Travelling Scholarship, launched in early 2022.

Award Details

The selection of the shortlisted students are based on students Stage 5 studio assessment submission. A panel of judges for the scholarship will review the Stage 5 studio work. The selected students are chosen on the quality and general appeal of their studio work.

Selected students are then invited to an interview with the awarding panel to discuss how they might use the scholarship (£2000 for one months travel in the summer)

Prior to the meeting with the judging panel, selected students are requested to provide an A4 outlining how they might use the scholarship.

The winner of the award will produce an output (500 words) for the CRM Journal (and if appropriate give a public talk on their experiences and outcomes)

The scholarship is available only to students studying at the Mackintosh School of Architecture with the scholarship recipient receiving up to £2000 contribution towards travel costs to explore an aspect of their practice inspired by their final design thesis. The output arising from the award of the scholarship will be agreed with the scholarship awarding panel prior to undertaking the period of travel. The travel may be undertaken either in the UK or abroad during 2024. 

The costs of producing the research output in dissertation format, and if appropriate, visual supporting material, is included in the scholarship award.

Award Winners

In June 2022 the Travelling Scholarship was awarded to Aurora Takami-Siljedahl, a 3rd Year Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) student. Aurora’s research proposal was to experientially understand the psychological impact of the architectural ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ by visiting the House for an Art Lover in Glasgow designed by Mackintosh and the Purkersdorf Sanitorium in Vienna designed by Josef Hoffmann.
Following her travels Aurora was required to submit either a 10,000-word dissertation or a visual research project comprising physical/digital models or drawings, artefacts or photographs accompanied by a 5,000-word text that contextualises, describes and references the visual response. An extra special part of her prize, was to submit a reduced version of her text for publication in the Society’s Journal.

In 2023 the Mackintosh/DSB Travelling Scholarship was awarded to Rachel Crooks, a DipArch graduate from the MSA’s Stage 5 course. Rachel was also awarded the RIAS Rowand Anderson Silver Medal for Best 5th Year Student. Rachel’s Travelling Scholarship thesis entitled Memories, Metabolism + Mackintosh was inspired by a brief encounter with the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art] in 2013. Her article is included here, and her full dissertation is available here.

In 2024 the Mackintosh/DSB Travelling Scholarship was awarded to Julian Caldwell, a DipArch graduate from the MSA’s Stage 5 course. His project is outlined below:-

Place Retention – Retaining Mexico Cities Art Nouveau & Art Deco Neighbourhoods – What happens when ornate, locally made buildings become damaged? Are they lost forever, rebuilt as replicas, or can they enter a new chapter of life? Mexico City’s central district, home to many of the country’s best art nouveau and art deco buildings, have been ravaged by earthquakes and dereliction. Now facing a surge new investment and popularity, the character created by these buildings is at risk of being lost to internationally anonymous redevelopment. 

This scholarship will be used to investigate the methodology some Mexican practices are using to revive these buildings, imagining a new chapter for them. The issue will then be brought to attention by creating a series of physical models of remarkable existing structures in the area, to leave behind as a provocation for their next chapter.