Sir Basil Spence
Event ID 567331
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Sir Basil Spence
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/567331
Building Notes
The 1938 Empire Exhibition was the fourth of five Great Exhibitions to be hosted by Glasgow between 1888 and 1988. It was planned as 'the most extravagant exhibition ever held in Britain'. The venue chosen was Bellahouston Park, which at 178 acres was more than 100 acres larger than Kelvingrove Park which had hosted the previous exhibitions.
Spence was given three separate commissions. The first commission was to design the North and South Scottish Pavilions, as assistant to architect-in-chief, Thomas Tait. These were a pair of blue-painted, flat roofed, geometric forms with 120-foot entrance towers. The North Pavilion was dedicated to public services in Scotland and the South to Scotland's past and future. The interiors included the work of artists and sculptors such as Thomas Whalen, Archibald Dawson and William Semple.
Spence's second commission was for Imperial Chemical Industries. ICI were the largest chemical producers in the Empire and Spence's pavilion had to reflect this. The result was a striking modernist building with three triangular, embossed pylons that represented earth, air and water. In the centre was a 200-foot beam of light representing fire and a fountain coloured with light that represented the company's dyestuffs.
The third commission was for the Council of Art and Industry. Spence's remit was to design an ideal Scottish house and to promote contemporary Scottish manufacturing and craftsmanship. The house was harled in a modern vernacular style and filled with contemporary Scottish furnishings and fittings. It was bright, compact and easy to maintain. This commission was undertaken as a 'favour' for which Spence did not receive payment.
Archive Details and Summary
RCAHMS has a large amount of material relating to the Empire Exhibition, primarily photographic. This includes press photographs; photographic copies of souvenir cigarette cards; photographs of the Scottish House model; plans, sections, elevations and details of the Atlantic Restaurant and the Garden Club pavilion. The Spence Glover and Ferguson Collection, also held at RCAHMS, contains three photographs of the ICI pavillion. The Scott Morton Collection, also held at RCAHMS, contains a presscuttings album that contains information on the Exhibition.
The Sir Basil Spence Archive contains four photographs, an axonometric section of the interior the ICI pavilion, and a scrapbook containing photographs and cuttings.
This text was written as one of the outputs of the Sir Basil Spence Archive Project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, 2005-08.
