Rescuing Rennie Mackintosh

On the 23rd of May 2014, a devastating fire at the Glasgow School of Art totally destroyed the world-famous Mackintosh Library and its important historical collections. One of the most important and widely recognised library spaces in the world, it was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh between 1907 and 1909 as part of the second phase of the Art School building and was generally accepted as one of the finest Art Nouveau interiors internationally. This presentation from Academic Liaison Librarian Duncan Chappell will describe the immediate response to the fire and to the salvage of the School’s archives and collections. It will explain some of the decision-making processes that were devised, and explore the complex ethical considerations that inevitably arise in such situations. It will also discuss the management of the post-fire archaeological dig and salvage operation, and how different teams of people were managed. Finally, it will also discuss the School’s longer-term plans to rebuild its collection in strategically-aligned ways