Historic GSA Rooftop

This is the view from the 'Hen Run' corridor atop the Mackintosh designed Glasgow School of Art (GSA) currently under reconstruction following a disastrous fire in May 2014.

Today's private tour was led by director Alan Horn whose infectious enthusiasm for the Grade I listed building was evident to all.

Alan explained in painful detail the devastation facing him when he first entered the building shortly after the fire. 

The famous library with all its contents was almost completely lost but a message received from the custodians of the Royal Palaces, who had fist-hand experience of reconstruction following the Windsor Castle fire, advised GSA not to remove any material from the building and immediately appoint forensic scientists to sift though the debris.

This resulted in a great deal of material that can either be reconstructed or give clues to the method of construction to help return the library to the original design.  

The tragic irony was that a new advanced sprinkler misting system had been installed but the final commissioning had been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances and was finally due to take place four-days after the fire!

The GSA is on target to re-open to students in 2019