Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building Declared 'Gone Forever' by Architect

London, United Kingdom Jul 23, 2026 ALN: Glasgow School of Art's confirmation that it cannot afford to fully reinstate the fire-damaged Mackintosh Building has led a leading architect to warn that Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece is "gone forever".

Alan Dunlop told The Herald that the best outcome now achievable was to "retain as much of the Mackintosh building as possible and build a new art school within that framework".

The school's Board of Governors said on Wednesday that it would need financial help from others to fully reinstate the Mackintosh Building, after a new business case put the cost of a complete rebuild at around £265 million, more than four times the £62m estimate reportedly given in 2021.

Instead of full reinstatement, the Board has now approved what it is calling "stabilisation and repair".

This means the removal of the scaffolding and protective wrap that has surrounded the building since 2018.

It will be replaced with an "internal temporary retention" system which has a lifespan of 15 years, and permanent steelwork in 40% of the building. However, the Mack will remain unusable.

The cost of the stabilisation project will be met by the insurance payout from the 2018 fire.

The school said work was expected to begin on site next summer, and that it would now seek partners, including the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and private and philanthropic backers, to help fund the full reinstatement.

Fire in the Mackintosh building (Image: NQ)

Mr Dunlop described the images accompanying GSA's technical report, which sets out the changes needed to meet modern fire safety, access and sustainability standards, as "utterly soulless".

"Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art is gone forever and, in my view, has been since June 15, 2018," he said.

He described it as "even more bizarre" that GSA was proceeding with a £265m "enabling" project aimed at a "faithful reinstatement" of a building he said no longer suited the school's needs.

"Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art was designed for drawing, painting and sculpture, hence Fra Newbery's, the director of the GSA at the time, instructions for large north-facing studio windows," he said.

Mr Dunlop said he was disappointed by comments from Ann Priest, chair of GSA's Board of Governors, that the building could "have a new purpose and become a catalyst for innovation, regeneration and economic growth for Glasgow".

"This seems to me to be a dilution of responsibility, and worse, a distinct failure to focus on their prime task of delivering a replacement for the Mackintosh building, rather than some centre for creative activity," he said. "It's clear to me still that a trust has to be set up separate from the board."

He said GSA would struggle to attract public investment, given the criticism levelled at the board since the second fire.

"They are looking for partners and will clearly need public money, how much will depend on the settlement from the insurers, which is not stated.

"However, all public comment since the second fire has centred on the incompetence of the GSA board. The chair has now gone but even with new members I doubt very much that has changed, so successfully attracting public investment seems a forlorn hope."

Mr Dunlop said the best outcome now achievable was to "retain as much of the Mackintosh building as possible and build a new art school within that framework, that recognises and respects Mackintosh's original masterwork," but said this would require "an exceptional architect and a proper procurement process, not one that emphasises fee over talent".

Painter and writer Lachlan Goudie told BBC Scotland News the prospect of the building not being restored to its former self was "a disgrace".

"This reeks of a lack of transparency, which has been very common over the past eight years," he said. "The fact it has taken that long to get to a point where we know nothing much, beyond the GSA don't have enough money to rebuild it, is shameful.

"It is a national disgrace what has happened here. Nothing less than an authentic recreation of what Mackintosh left Glasgow and the world will do."

He compared the building's significance to that of the Scotland national football team. "We had the World Cup recently, and we should be as proud of the building as we are of the national football team," he said. "The Scottish Government need to be saying this is vital to our national character, we had architectural crown jewels left to us."

However, David MacDonald, director of conservation firm Laurence McIntosh, which built the full-scale prototype of the Mackintosh library bays before the 2018 fire, was more upbeat.

He said it was "encouraging that the ambition to see this internationally significant building faithfully rebuilt remains", and that the enabling works "provides a foundation for the partnerships needed to make reinstatement possible".

Drone shot of Glasgow School of Art (Image: Damian Shields)

Speaking to The Herald, Mr MacDonald said: "It's moving forward. It's the end of one chapter, there's no point in looking back.

"We're here for a reason, and everyone's got to move forward. And if there's an appetite for rebuilding, then everybody involved has got to get together and decide, okay, we're going to have concerts, we're going to have this, we're going to have that to raise money. Let's get behind it.

"Look what we did for the football team. If we're serious about it, let's be serious about it.

"If it's unaffordable, it's unaffordable. Let's move on.

"If we think that £265m is achievable, let's go for it.

"Let's show the world what Glasgow and Scotland's capable of. We've got the people, got the energy, whether it's a faithful reconstruction or whether it's a façade and there's something incredible behind, let's get on with it."

First Minister John Swinney promised the Scottish Government would "engage constructively with Glasgow School of Art on how a partnership can be constructed to try to take forward this project to make sure that the Mack is a building that can be utilised as part of the future of Scotland".

Michael Dale, chairman of the council of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, said it was "good to finally see progress toward reinstatement of the Mackintosh Building".

He added: "For too long its future has been uncertain. The public is crying out for it to be rebuilt and governments must now seize the opportunity to reinstate this iconic building.