Glasgow School of Art

The Glasgow Institution of Art (GSA; Scottish Gaelic: Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a Scottish higher education art school that offers undergraduate degrees, postgraduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. The school is based in a variety of buildings in the heart of Glasgow, on Garnethill, an area initially built in the early 1800s by William Harley of Blythswood Hill. Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed the most notable of its structures in stages between 1896 and 1909. The namesake Mackintosh Building quickly became one of the city's most recognizable icons, standing for more than a century. It represents the Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style).

The innovative utilization of windows is one of the building's most remarkable aspects. They are tall and slim, echoing the size of the rooms within the structure, with varied sized windows in each. Natural and artificial light are used to their full potential inside the school. As an artist, Mackintosh knew the value of being able to work with natural light. The east wing of the school was constructed between 1897 and 1899, and the west wing between 1907 and 1909. The attic studios in the new structure were so popular that comparable rooms were built to the east wing. The western gateway is more ornate than the remainder of the structure, with a gradation of stone sculptures reminiscent of an Egyptian pyramid's entrance.

It's an intriguing foreshadowing of Art Deco design. The formidable outside walls of the structure owe an homage to the grandeur of the Scottish Baronial heritage, yet the interior areas are pleasantly contemporary. It is a structure of stark contrasts: the façade seems austere, while the interior appears friendly. The structure was extensively damaged by fire in May 2014 and destroyed by a second fire in June 2018, leaving just the burnt-out shell. The GSA was ranked 11th in the QS World Rankings for Art and Design in 2022.

Location: Glasgow, Scotland