Fire at the Mack

Today was supposed to be a day to celebrate the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

This morning I took my group on a tour of the Mackintosh Church and then we headed over to the Mackintosh House. We then made our way down to the Merchant City and lunch at the Corinthian. While at the Corinthian I heard the devastating news that the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art was on fire. This news felt surreal, it was unthinkable that this was happening to such an iconic building.

My group were very understanding and realised my day had been turned upside down.

When I got to the GSA I was shocked at the intensity of the fire and it felt like I had lost a close friend. The only good news is that nobody seems to have been hurt in the fire. The rest of my day has been taken up with calls from friends, relatives and interviews with the press.

The fire is thought to have started in the basement, rising up to consume half of the building before spreading across the roof.

I feel totally drained by the experiences of today. To lose so much of a Mackintosh masterpiece is devastating, but this building is so special, it is the heartbeat of Glasgow’s creative scene.

The Mackintosh Society would like to offer our support to the GSA in any way possible.

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Some comments on twitter:-
"The GSA is more than a building. It's like seeing your Granda on fire," said Fran Healy, lead singer of Scottish band Travis, who studied at the Glasgow School of Art in the early 1990s.

"Terrible news: one of our greatest buildings," wrote Paul Goldberger, former New Yorker architecture critic and Vanity Fair contributing editor.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said on Twitter: "Thoughts with staff & students at @GSofA - awful to see destruction of this iconic building and students work."

Royal Institute of British Architects' president said damage to Glasgow School of Art is an international tragedy.

The RIBA joins our colleagues in Scotland in sending out a message to the students, staff of the school and all those who have been associated with this building over the decades, a message of sorrow and commiseration at this terrible, terrible news. It is too early to talk about what happens now, but the Institute will do anything it can to help in any way.

In 2009 the building won the Royal Institute of British Architect's "Stirling of Stirlings", after a public vote and private judging panel both chose the Mackintosh Building as the best British building of the past 175 years.