Fairytale in the Woods - Glen O'Dee
[adrian welch]
On Restoration the indefatigable Ptolemy waxed lyrical over this Bavarian style former sanatorium. But for me the place was stuffy, slightly smelly and home to a perpetually twilit fishtank. As a youngster I sang in a choir that visited the hospital fortnightly, belting out traditional psalms and bringing life to the place.
Glen O’Dee is located on the west edge of Banchory, an affluent town in Aberdeenshire. Completed in 1900 it was one of Britian's first sanatoria. The tuberculosis hospital’s plan is logical and rigorous: the building faces due south in a clearing on a heavily-wooded hill. Long corridors run along the north face with recreational spaces – and bedrooms above – jutting out into the garden. The views over manicured lawns led to rhododendron beneath a thick canopy of conifers. Thus bizarrely for a place of recuperation, there is no view of Scolty or surrounding hills, a rather melancholic inversion. This wasn't helped by hard burgundy-painted corridor floors, reverberating continual trolley noise as the minister prayed for peace.
More sadness came in the putting green out front: in ten years of singing (from soprano to bass) I never saw anyone hone their skills on this remnant of a bygone era. There is something romantic however about the buildings fanciful form, especially the Gothic roofscape and more varied south frontage. Key elements were expressed in rough-hewn granite from the nearby Hill o' Fare, as is typical for Banchory, with steeply-sloping ogee roofs above straight from a fairytale castle. The timber came all the way from Germany's Black Forest, as did the plan - based on that of Nordrach-in-Baden. Nevertheless, the cream-painted swathes of external boarding looked like a huge mistake when I revisited late last year. Blistering and peeling paint across the bulk of the deserted hulk are surely part of the maintenance time bomb that helped kill off this optimistic building.
Ptolemy
did wonders for encouraging viewers to love this former recuperatory for
the likes of writer Somerset Maugham,
but apart from the obligatory game of tig each visit on the north lawn
– and the annual ‘tea’ with its iced buns – I have
few good memories of this rather eerie place in
the depths of dark woods. Unlike the 'star presenters' it was integral
to my growing up, running cross country through the grounds, releasing
a vole in the woods and photographing it for my sixth year art portfolio,
but I never lingered long; I also knew the granite quarries - skimming
stones across their deep pools at Raemoir
- that supplied Glen O'Dee, just a stone's throw away: true 'sustainability'
before it was termed as such.
As we debate ‘iconic architecture’ - and the respect given to
architects - this building has some important messages for today’s
architects, maybe especially those completing Maggie’s Centres. There
was nothing solipsistically contrived about this building, although philosophically
imported (thus partly alien), it had good logic
– melding aspect with parti and shelving symmetry where
it got in the way. It had two different facades that were from the same
family but had appropriately different roles. It had facades that were
proportional and not trying to play with metaphors or relate to some unrelated
Scottish typology. Apart from the profusion of painted wood – which
probably cost little to maintain in the era it was built – and over-reliance
on corridors for circulation, there was little wrong with the overall
moves. The building’s structure could probably survive for many more
years but the real killer is surely today’s radically different health
regimes.
Although the Sanatorium closed in 1928, lying empty until becoming the Glen O' Dee Hotel in 1934, after being used for the War it reverted to a 'hospital'. However, as Mark Chalmers points out, similarily listed Sidlaw Sanatorium at Auchterhouse (Angus) was successfully converted to flats. LDN apparently completed a feasability study for retention with housing in the grounds but this appears to have stalled. Grade A listed Glen O'Dee has been on the Buildings at Risk Register since 1993: rehabilitation as supported housing is supported by the Glen O' Dee Preservation Trust, administered by Tenants First, Britain's largest fully mutual housing co-operative.
I
doubt this quiet clearing will return to nature: if only the new development
could be something as seminal and hopeful,
but more considered. Banchory
had a proud reputation as a Victorian tourist resort – sheltered
from the prevailing wind by Scolty on a wooded south-facing slope –
and could do with some strong new architecture. The current bungalow-style
excretions around the main building show sad underperformance, and could
be anywhere. I suggest the replacement buildings should better utilise
the wonderful views to the south; the site should be developed fittingly
as a hospital, steering clear of 'PFI box' and 'showy icon' alternatives
- looking to Aalto’s Paimio
Sanatorium
or the ‘quieter’ Maggie’s
Centres
in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Whatever, the result must focus on the inhabitants,
rather than some fleeting gesture. It should be solid as stone.
Link: www2.rgu/ac/uk/ora/glenodee/main.htm
jun 05
texts - no limit to words, we supply the colours: info@e-architect.co.uk
Adrian Welch is an architect; he also runs
www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk and www.glasgowarchitecture.co.uk which
act as a forum and resource for Scottish architecture
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- adrian welch / isabelle lomholt