Glasgow School of Art hits 'significant milestone' during restoration

The white protective wrap and roofing has been placed around the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building, which was seriously damaged by fire in 2014 and 2018, with the restoration project now able to move on to its next phase.

Eleanor Magennie, director of estates at the art school said the “significant milestone” will allow the building “to dry out and enables the next stages of internal works to progress alongside further advance works and planning”.

Experts said the building will take about two years to dry out under the wrapping, and as it does so other parts of the extensive rebuild can take place.

Work continues to rebuild Glasgow School of Art after two devastating fires (Image: PA)

So far this academic year, work has included taking down the Mackintosh Library pillars. Surveys of the original steel beams have been completed, identifying those which can be kept as part of the rebuild.

The next stage of works includes repairs to the building’s internal brickwork.

Work completed last January included the recovery of 23,000 imperial bricks, and the project team is now sourcing a further 460,000. Significant amounts of stonework have also been recovered.

The Glasgow School of Art is Mackintosh’s most celebrated building, with it recognised since the 1930s as a work of international significance.

The white protective wrap and roofing has been placed around the building (Image: PA)

The school was built in two stages between 1897 and 1909, but was seriously damaged by fire in May 2014.

Then four years later in June 2018, catastrophic damage was caused to the building by another fire as restoration from the previous blaze was nearing completion.

With the wrapping now in place, work can soon begin on the reinstatement of green glazing to the neighbouring Reid Building, a project which is expected to be completed by next spring.

Penny Macbeth, director of the art school, said: “This progress – including the reglazing of the Reid – represents visible progress for our students and staff, who have recently celebrated a successful and hugely-popular degree show.

“It also underlines a sense of progress to the local community and all of our stakeholders in Glasgow and beyond, who we thank for their patience and support in what is a complex reinstatement project.”