Glasgow School of Art

I awoke on Saturday morning (Melbourne time) to the sad news that Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece, The Glasgow School of Art was on fire. "Due to one of the most astonishingly intelligent and professional pieces of strategy", the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service fought to control the fire and preserve as much of the building as possible however the library was completely gutted.

According to the art school's chairperson Muriel Gray the archives are safe and it was a delight to see "most of our beloved building bruised and battered, but most certainly not destroyed".

In relation to the library she added,

"Mackintosh was not famous for working in precious materials. It was his vision that was precious and we are confident that we can recreate what was lost as faithfully as possible."

"Our main concern right now is the welfare of the students and the impending graduation and everyone is working hard together to achieve the best outcome for all."

While many works have been preserved, some students have lost some or all of their work.

The spirit appears to be strong. The building is 90% viable and will hopefully be restored ready to welcome many more generations of art students.

Reference:
BBC News, (2014). Glasgow School of Art fire: Iconic library destroyed. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27556659 [Accessed 25 May. 2014].