Mackintosh building to get 3.5m facelift funding

A 3.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund is to allow the foundation of a flagship centre to celebrate Glasgow’s appointment as UK City of Architecture and Design in 1999.

The former Glasgow Herald headquarters, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and known locally as The Lighthouse, is to be refurbished to provide “a centre for excellence in the study and interpretation of architecture, design and the nature of the city”, says a spokeswoman for the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Javier Mariscal, of Estudio Mariscal in Barcelona, and local designer Sam Booth have been jointly commissioned to develop the visual identity and the interiors of The Lighthouse. Glasgow architect Page & Park has been chosen to develop schemes to convert the interior and add extensions to the building.

Adjacent buildings are to be used for service and storage to the main seven-storey Mackintosh building under Page & Park’s plans. The centre itself will provide two galleries, a review gallery for new product design, a permanent design artefact collection, a Charles Rennie Mackintosh centre, play areas, conference facilities and a rooftop gallery and café. Elements of the building will be “constantly changing”, says Page & Park partner David Page.

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