The Glasgow School of Art (1896-1899; the famous library was created in 1907-1909) is the key building of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the international Art Nouveau style, equally important for both professionals and the general public: in various polls, this building has repeatedly turned out to be the most popular with the British. It is all the more striking that the catastrophic fire, noticed at about 11:20 pm on Friday, June 15, and completely extinguished only on Tuesday, became the second in several years. In May 2014, flammable vapors from the polyurethane foam used by the students to make the model caused the projector to explode. Then the fire engulfed a third of the building, completely destroying the famous library - one of the symbols of the Art Nouveau style, and only the dedication of the firefighters who extinguished the building at the risk of their lives made it possible to reduce losses.
Despite the difficult circumstances (the use of hazardous substances, the new sprinkler system that did not have time to work, etc.), no adequate investigation was carried out to punish the perpetrators. With considerable effort, 35 million pounds were raised for the restoration of the building, including a complete reconstruction of the interior of the library. It was handled by the Page / Park architects and was almost complete by the time of the second fire. The historic building was due to open later this year, when the world celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Macintosh.
The second fire broke out in the eastern part of the school, which was not damaged at all in 2014. It was much more serious in scale, so although firefighters took control of the fire at 6 am on Saturday, its hidden pockets were eliminated for several days. Moreover, it spread to two music clubs in the neighborhood, which were almost destroyed in the end. If the first fire occurred on the eve of the exhibition of graduation works, the second happened in the evening after the holiday - the graduation ceremony, which aggravated the hard feelings of all people associated with the school, although this was a serious disaster for all citizens and for architecture lovers from all over the world.
The fire was noticed by a passing policeman, which raises a question: after all, the contractor Kier installed a fire alarm system, there were always three security guards hired by this company in the building, who also monitored the possibility of a fire; the sprinklers, however, were not installed again. The fire was extinguished by 120 firefighters and 20 cars, but, despite their efforts, only the facades remained of the building, and the eastern one, as far as one can judge without a detailed study, is now unstable. The current state of the building can be estimated from the film made with the help of a drone - see video below.
Among the fortunate moments is the fact that some of the library parts that were rescued in the 2014 fire and rebuilt on June 15 were still in the warehouse and therefore were not damaged. In addition, after the first fire, a detailed digital 3D model of the art school was created, which allows, if desired, to restore it in all details. This is relevant, because after the emotions subsided a little, the key "players" - the Glasgow City Council, the state heritage agency and the school management - announced their intention to recreate it - despite the high cost (at least 100 million pounds) and the ambiguity of this solutions.
The prospect of reconstructing the monument or demolishing the remains of it worries people far from the executive branch, and opinions, as usual, were divided. As positive examples of the detailed reconstruction of it by supporters in Glasgow, examples that are completely different in content are cited - post-war Warsaw and the cities of Germany. Others wishing to see a replica on the site include traditionalist architect Francis Terry, Macintosh specialist Roger Billcliffe, Donald Insall Associates, which rebuilt Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire, and British Labor MP Paul Sweeney (within his polling station houses a school). On the other hand, architect Alan Dunlop, an art school graduate based in Glasgow, believes that rebuilding a monument of the past is pointless and would anger Mack himself, who held innovative, even radical aesthetic views for his time. According to Dunlop, instead of the burned-out monument, it is necessary to build a high-quality modern building based on the results of a competition with the participation of Scottish architects. The same opinion is shared by the artist Barbara Rae, a member of the Royal Academy, who taught at the Glasgow school for more than twenty years. However, it is worth noting that the new building of the school, the work of Stephen Hall, located across the street from the damaged masterpiece of Art Nouveau, does not suit everyone and even won an architectural anti-award, so not everyone will be ready to accept the new building on the site of the favorite monument. In the middle is the restorer Julian Harrap, who worked with David Chipperfield on the benchmark example of non-replication reconstruction, Berlin's New Museum. In his opinion, it is possible to insert volumes with restrained form into the existing walls of the school, highlighting all the preserved details in the interior. Thus, the remains of the unique building will not be demolished (which is assumed by the construction of a completely new building) and it will be possible to avoid creating a "dummy".
However, the key issue is not the ethical side of copying monuments, although it is very relevant today - just remember Palmyra and the exhibition of the Victoria and Albert Museum at the Venice Biennale in 2016. It is more important to understand why monuments in Glasgow and buildings in Great Britain are so vulnerable to fire. Among the various victims - sailing ship "Cutty Sark" in Greenwich (also burned down during construction work), London residential tower "Grenfell", Windsor Castle - the key residence of the royal family. In Glasgow itself, after a fire or abandonment by the owners, many buildings of the 19th century are empty, including the works of the prominent classicist Alexander "The Greek" Thompson. Another example: on the same street as the school of arts, there is a 114-year-old Pavilion concert hall, which suffered a fire in March this year (then the fire engulfed an entire block, which is now almost completely demolished). Parliamentarians promise to tackle the issue of heritage preservation more closely, firefighters and forensic experts are planning a detailed study of the ruined art school, and everyone who is not indifferent can only wait for now.