Glasgow School of Art will rise from the ashes again, the chair of the school board has announced.
In June, the historic building was gutted by fire for the second time in four years, leading to fears that the building’s remaining walls could be demolished.
“It is absolutely coming back,” chairwoman Muriel Grey told the Herald on Sunday, adding that it could be rebuilt to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s original blueprints before the centenary of the great architect’s death in 2028.
Grey said: “Imagine the thrill of saying, ‘We have an architect for this project: who is it? Charles Rennie Mackintosh.'”
Following a 2014 fire, a digital map of the building was created which can be used for the new restoration, while plans from the original 1896-1909 construction are held in the school’s archives.
“This time it will be built with such knowledge and expertise that we have learned since 2014,” Grey said. “We are resolved that the Mackintosh comes back as a working art school, as a major player, a cultural leader for the city and the Scottish economy.”
