This Photograph appears
in the following Albums:
| Image ID: | 336 |
| Title: | Mosaics on the ceiling of Glencairn’s great hall |
| Source: | Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn Archives, Bryn Athyn, PA |
| Photographer: | Christopher Smith |
| Date: | 2003 |
| Medium: | Digital camera image |
| Description: | The mosaic designs on the ceiling of Glencairn’s great hall were inspired by the Book of Kells. “I had another problem, in the great hall. The ceiling and the roof is six-inch reinforced concrete, and that is covered with what’s called a nailcrete—an inch and a half, and then ¾ inch clay tile. To support all that weight, there were huge steel trusses that went across the whole arch of the building, to support this. Well Mr. Pitcairn didn’t want to see those steel trusses, so he wanted those covered with mosaic. But to facilitate the work, what they decided to do was to drill holes in the flanges of these steel trusses, and then to pre-cast the mosaic in a monolith, and bolt it up to the truss itself” (Gunther, Ariel. Transcript of Bryn Athyn glassmaking lecture. Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn Archives, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania). |