The House In A Box - Hill House

The Hill House is located within the town of Helensburgh in South West Scotland. It was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the Blackie family who run a printing company. The entire design of the property, its grounds, external features and furnishings were designed and bespoke for the family and their lifestyle. The building did however have a serious flaw. The cement that was used for the external rendering was not suitable for the location. The house was built in one of the wettest areas of Scotland and through the years the building was beginning to dissolve due to water ingress. The National Trust for Scotland are now the trustee of the building and as part of their long-term preservation efforts for Hill House a large “box“ was constructed over the house. The intention is to protect the house from further effects of rain and allow the structure to dry out. The drying process is expected to take 15 years. At that stage repair work will be carried out to replace the ex