Keynote Address: 'From Tome to Tomb: The Birth, Death, and Reconstruction of Mackintosh’s Library'

The Mackintosh Building at The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) – designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh circa 1897-1907 – is a monument of international significance and of crucial importance to the history of architecture and design. In May 2014, a major fire severely damaged a small but vital part of ‘The Mack’, and its iconic library was lost. After this fire, GSA initiated a major restoration and reconstruction effort. This created an invaluable opportunity for a closer study of the building facilitating an intervention in the scholarship on this internationally important art school. However, in June 2018 as the project neared completion, a second more devastating fire swept through the building, destroying its interior and severely damaging the exterior. A large portion of the walls of this A-listed building yet stand strong, and the knowledge gleaned through the first restoration makes a faithful reconstruction highly likely. This talk will focus on Mackintosh’s famous library, discussing its history within the school, highlighting the collection that was lost, and its recovery post-2014. Its reconstruction will be explored, alongside an examination of its meaning and importance as a Symbolist interior, and a look to its present state and hopeful future