Ruairidh Moir, architect & founder, BARD, launches campaign to rebuild Glasgow School of Art's iconic Mackintosh Building.
Credit: Alexander James-Aylin
Ruairidh Moir, a Scottish architect and founder of Glasgow practice, BARD, has launched a campaign to secure the future of the twice-burned Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art - widely regarded as an icon within the city.
With activity stalled on the repair of 'The Mack' - designed originally by the much-loved Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Ruairidh's view is for "an independent body to own and take forward the project" to ensure the "faithful restoration and reinstatement" that we owe to Mackintosh, while urging that "original materials must be used to preserve authenticity."
This campaign has come in response to the recent announcement from the Glasgow School of Art that it is unable to "reinstate" Mackintosh’s design without external partnerships.
As this article is written, Ruairidh's petition has secured 9,237 signatures. When the target of 100,000 is met, the petition will be presented to the Scottish and UK Governments, as well as the board of the Glasgow School of Art.
With momentum gaining pace as word of the petition spreads, we caught up with Ruairidh to hear his hopes for the campaign, as well as what he feels should happen beyond 100,000 signatures...
What initially kickstarted the petition, and why is the restoration so important to you personally?
"It’s my favourite building of all time, and it’s the building that took me to Glasgow. I’ve always adored the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and the Glasgow School of Art is his major masterpiece. Over the years it’s given so much joy - trying to understand it, knowing it inside and out. It teaches you, but it also uplifts you.
"To see it so badly damaged by the first fire, and then almost destroyed by the second, has been traumatic for many people. I sympathise with that feeling because I feel it too.
"As for why a petition now: many people have been campaigning for the same thing. All I’ve really done is set up a simple petition, it’s just one tool. What spurred it at this point was the Art School’s recent announcement, which seemed to row back on a previous commitment and introduced caveats. I felt - and others did too - that enough is enough. The petition is a way to show strength in numbers and to put pressure on the Art School and both governments to do what ought to be done: get the building back, as best as we can, and as soon as we can."
People are comparing it to Notre-Dame. Do you think that’s fair?
"Yes, it’s a fair analogy. Notre-Dame is a national building tied to France’s identity, and the Glasgow School of Art is the same for Glasgow, Scotland, and in many ways the world and the UK.
"It’s been highly regarded for a long time. In the RIBA’s 175th anniversary poll, members voted it the best building created in that period. That tells you the level it sits at.
"What puzzles me is why it hasn’t had the same level of impetus as Notre-Dame. In France, the government and president took a driving seat and pushed it forward. There were suggestions about modern interventions, but those were quashed quickly in order to do the right thing. There are parallels here.
"Now is the time for the Mack. We’ve got almost everything at our fingertips to do this and to do it right. We owe it to the world. Otherwise, what’s the alternative? What does it say about Scotland, about Glasgow, if we don’t? Frankly, it’s not an option to not do this properly."
Do you think this speaks to a wider issue around heritage buildings being neglected or lost?
"Possibly, yes - especially in Glasgow, which can feel particularly vulnerable. Old, listed, or vacant buildings can be neglected for too long, and then they disintegrate or burn down, and something else replaces them.
"But the Art School stands alone. It’s more than a heritage asset, it’s a national monument. At the same time, I don’t believe in wrapping buildings in aspic. One of the charms of the Art School was that it was a working art school. It was being used for its educational purpose, students living with it, using it, wearing it in, wiping paint on the walls, giving it life.
"So yes, it can point to wider symptoms around policy, tax, finance, retrofit, and willingness to invest, but the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art is so significant that it must be treated differently. What’s staggering is that even with such significance, it still hasn’t been repaired."
When the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, what’s your main message to the Scottish and UK governments and the GSA board?
"In a nutshell: just get it done. In political terms, think of the economy, think of its national standing, the money is relatively low compared to overall budgets. This building stands alongside Scotland’s great national treasures. It’s worth every penny to put it back on its feet.
"Find a way. If it needs a new Act of Parliament, do it. Finance it. It needs leadership. And alongside that, whoever leads needs to reinforce to the wider public why it matters, because people who didn’t know the building may not yet understand why it matters to them too. Storytelling is part of it."
Is there an architecture practice you envisage in prime position to lead the restoration?
"That’s difficult, because it’s such a big project. Some will argue you need a big firm to deliver everything; others will say you need strong leadership. In my view it needs a team of experts, likely international, and there is a rule book for how you reconstruct buildings like this.
"But you still need oversight and expertise, because details can be misinterpreted, glass, timber, joints, furniture, quality. It needs to be right.
"We know the building extremely well, and we’d do anything we can to help. We also have documents and surveys we don’t think anyone else has. But I don’t think it would be us as leader but we may be one voice eager to assist if we can.
"The construction skills are mostly there, and where they aren’t, they can be trained, which is an opportunity.
"The bit that concerns me isn’t the 'cart', it’s the 'horse.' Leadership and commitment must come first, and there are hurdles still in the way."
BARD is working on another Mackintosh building - can you tell us a bit about that?
"We’ve been working on Windyhill for about 11-years. It’s the only major Mackintosh building - other than the Art School - still in use for its original function. We added a small, jewellery-box-like garage: glass, concrete, and 6mm plate steel roof. There’s no bracing, which people don’t always believe until they see it.
"It was also our first ever job after qualifying, the first project in the office, so it’s been a real pleasure.
"We’ve also been involved in Mackintosh-related work elsewhere, including Queens’ Cross Church, where protection and fire safety are also of huge importance. Mackintosh has been a constant source of nourishment and inspiration for us, his work is a well that never runs dry. He produced relatively few buildings, but each is extraordinarily special."
Beyond signing the petition, what can people do to help?
"Keep raising awareness. Share the petition. Read and circulate the articles being written. Write to your MP and MSP and put pressure on them to raise it with the respective governments.
"You can also write to the Art School to express how you feel, because the petition is also directed at what they must do to make this work.
"And you can add your support through campaign websites, for example, Rebuild the Mack has a form where you can pledge support so there’s a database of people willing to help, and organisers can mobilise that support. The key is to keep the presence going until we get the action we need."
