The history of a great institution

THOUGH it has come to be regarded as the landmark Charles Rennie Mackintosh building, the Glasgow School of Art actually predates the innovative work of the Glasgow architect.

The institution's origins can be traced as far back as 1845, when it opened as Glasgow's Government School of Design, later becoming the Glasgow School of Art and Haldane Academy.

By the end of the 19th century, its success demanded expansion, and plans began to take shape for a new, larger building.

In 1896, an architectural competition was launched to that effect. Among those to enter was the Glaswegian firm of Honeyman & Keppie, which submitted a design from Mackintosh, inset, one of their junior draughtsmen and a former student of the school. The blueprints proved successful.

Even so, with a budget of just 14,000 - a sum next to nothing, says Dr Foyle – the construction of Mackintosh's vision was far from straightforward.

In 1897, work began on parts of the building, with the construction of the west wing dependent on securing additional funds. By December 1899, the first phase of the school – including the museum, the headmaster's room, and the boardroom – had been completed, yet it would take the board of governors eight years longer to find the money to complete the project.

Work started on the second half of the project in 1907 and by December 1909 it had been completed. In contrast to the earlier austere faades to the south and east, the west wing with its dramatic design and dominating windows heralded the birth of a new style in 20th-century European architecture.