Out of the ashes - the Mackintosh School of Art

摘要

The fire that ravaged Glasgow's semina Mackintosh School of Art last week was a tragic though sadly familiar event. From Windsor Castle to Crystal Palace, history is littered with great works of architecture that have been consumed by flames. It is a chastening admission but despite all our advances in technology and prevention, once a fire has started, then our buildings are probably as susceptible to the damage and destruction wrought by one of nature's most violent elements as they ever have been. The fire at the Mackintosh was all the more tragic because the building represents a kind of architecture that is all too rare today, both personal and emblematic. With its intricacy and idiosyncrasy of detail the Mackintosh School of Art was undoubtedly the branded, virtuoso work of its gifted creator. But it also grew to represent both a city and an age, recalling a time when art and architecture could seamlessly combine to speak to an audience wider than itself.