The project to rebuild Glasgow School of Art’s world-famous Mackintosh Building has reached a "significant" milestone with the completion of a temporary roof structure.
The school released an aerial photograph showing a protective white "wrap" on the building, which will remain until the building dries out, allowing the next stage of internal work to progress.
The Charles Rennie Mackintosh masterpiece was extensively damaged when a blaze broke out late on June 15 2018 as it neared the end of a £35 million restoration project following a previous fire in May 2014.
The extensive scaffolding that was erected in the wake of the second fire has now been scaled back.
It follows the complex removal of large-scale fire-damaged material and debris, a project whose timescale was impacted by the COVID pandemic and the completion of a thorough investigation by Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
READ MORE: First look inside Glasgow School of Art as first phase of rebuild project completed
The cost of the rebuild, which art school leaders say will be a "faithful reinstatement, has been estimated at more than £ 100 million.
GSA director, Professor Penny Macbeth has said she is confident that enough money can be raised for the project and it may not require public funds.
“The completion of the wrapping of the Mackintosh Building is a significant milestone, as this allows the building to dry out and enables the next stages of internal works to progress alongside further advance works and planning,” said Eleanor Magennis, Director of Estates.
Experts predict the drying-out process will take two years, during which time other aspects of the rebuilding project can progress.
To date this academic year, work has included the taking down of the Mackintosh Library pillars.
Surveys into the viability of the original steel beams have been completed, identifying those which can be retained as part of the rebuild.
The next stage of works includes repairs to the internal brickwork.
READ MORE: Art school fire immortalised on canvas to mark 'horrible anniversary'
Project work completed last January included the recovery of 23,000 imperial bricks, and the project team is now sourcing a further 460,000 bricks. Significant amounts of stonework have also been recovered.
The new wrap and related elements mean that work can begin shortly on the reinstatement of green glazing to the neighbouring Reid Building, a project that is expected to be completed in spring 2024.
“This progress — including the re-glazing of the Reid — represents visible progress for our students, and staff, who have recently celebrated a successful and hugely-popular degree show,” commented Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art.
“It also underlines a sense of progress to the local community, and all of our stakeholders in Glasgow and beyond who we thank for their patience and support in what is a complex reinstatement project.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) investigation was unable to establish how the 2018 blaze started and recorded the origin and cause as "undetermined".
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