What to do with the remains of Glasgow's Mackintosh building?
A recent update on the condition of the building, and what to do with it next, has raised some eyebrows from the architectural and conservation communities.
A row over the future direction of the charred remains of the Mackintosh building at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is almost as ferocious as the two fires that all but destroyed it in 2014 and 2018.
In July, the GSA, the Mack’s custodian, revealed that rather than pursue a faithful rebuild of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh masterpiece, it would ‘create museum standard interpretations of the building that will exist alongside its retained architectural elements’, so preserving the surviving shell, but replacing the original interior with a new building. It reasoned that the full reinstatement cost of £265 million — the ‘equivalent to five times the GSA’s annual turnover’ — would compromise its financial stability and that it could not contemplate such a project on its own.
Given that the current reservicing of Buckingham Palace is estimated to cost £370 million, the sum needed for the reconstruction of the Mackintosh Building is well within the sort of budgets demanded by major work on historic buildings of this importance (repairing Notre Dame cost about £726 million).
Ann Priest, chair of governors, also stated that the GSA had already ‘demonstrated that its ability to operate — and indeed thrive — is not dependent on the Mackintosh Building’. But, the GSA is responsible for its condition as the custodian of a Category A listed building.
The 'Loggia' corridor and bay windows leading to east of building and professors' studios, as it was in 2002 before the fires.
Architectural historians, architects, heritage bodies and members of the public, many frustrated by years of inaction, hit back at the move away from a faithful reconstruction, with the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society (CRM Society) going as far as to advocate that the GSA transfers its custodial responsibilities and the reconstruction to a newly formed independent body of heritage building experts. Its director Matthew Williams stated: ‘The society… is in the best position to galvanise support and bring together under one banner those who want the Mackintosh building restored to its rightful place as Scotland’s finest 20th-century building.’
The Victorian Society’s director James Hughes said that the GSA’s plans should serve as a call to action: ‘Glasgow School of Art has acknowledged that a project of this scale cannot be delivered alone. We hope this becomes the catalyst for a national — even international — partnership to secure the faithful reinstatement of one of the defining works of modern architecture.’ Paul Sweeney, the Labour MSP for Glasgow, argues that it should be placed into ‘the custody of a new joint venture vehicle, a restoration corporation, to pull everyone together’
Prof Alan Dunlop of the eponymous architectural practice called the proposals ‘utterly soulless’; ‘catastrophic’ was the verdict of architect and former Glasgow School of Art lecturer Gordon Gibb; and Malcolm Fraser of Livingstone Architects wrote: ‘The idea of the Mack “partially rebuilt” in some modern, shoddy way is an obscenity.’ Fraser, together with GSA professor Johnny Rodger, has launched a campaign, Rebuild the Mack, and, on their new online platform, they have contrasted the situation with the swift rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris: ‘The comparison… shames us, as France’s most cherished building burnt one year after our second fire, but is now gloriously rebuilt, yet the Mack still stands as four gaunt walls round a sepulchral void.’
Some restoration work on the interiors has already begun, funded by the building's insurance claim.
They are also in the process of pulling together a consortia that already includes trusts, academics and architects and more than 6,000 signed-up supporters. ‘We believe that the GSA should relinquish ownership, responsibility, optimism and care, plus the amount they settled on from insurers and other relevant sums, to a Mack trust formed with the CRM Society at its core, but as a Special Project Vehicle, with the best advice from Scottish heritage trusts and other building professionals,’ Fraser told Country Life, adding that, following discussions with the CRM Society, a partnership with this body is the obvious next step. A petition to ‘fully and faithfully’ restore the Mack has been launched by Glasgow-based architect Ruairidh Moir, who seeks 100,000 signatures.
A GSA spokesperson told Country Life: ‘The GSA remains committed to exploring every opportunity for the Mackintosh building to be rebuilt. We have begun conversations with stakeholders about potential partnerships and these discussions are ongoing.’
Architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh is best remembered for the GSA, which took shape when John Honeyman & Keppie, a firm he joined as a draughtsman in 1889, won a design competition for a new building. Completed in 1909, the GSA was admired internationally as one of the greatest achievements of the Arts-and-Crafts Movement. The May 2014 fire severely damaged the west wing and completely destroyed the world-renowned library. A £35 million restoration was all but complete when the second fire ravaged the entire building
This feature originally appeared in the August 12, 2026, issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.
