A Glasgow building containing the recreated home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh could be given Scotland’s highest level of listed-building protection.
Historic Environment Scotland has launched a consultation on plans to designate the Hunterian Art Gallery and Mackintosh House at the University of Glasgow as a Category A listed building.
The striking Hillhead Street complex was designed by architect Sir William Whitfield and constructed during the 1970s, with the gallery opening in 1980 and the Mackintosh House following in 1981.
Historic Environment Scotland considers the building an outstanding example of post-war Scottish architecture, combining elements of Brutalism with ideas that would become associated with postmodern design.
Sitting within the distinctive structure is one of Glasgow’s most important surviving connections with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife and creative partner, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh.
The Mackintosh House recreates the principal interiors of the couple’s former home at 78 Southpark Avenue, close to the university.
Mackintosh and Macdonald lived there between 1906 and 1914, transforming the Victorian property to create interiors filled with furniture, decorative details and objects designed by the couple.
The original house was demolished in 1963 as the University of Glasgow expanded.
Before demolition, however, important parts of its interior were carefully recorded and removed. The principal rooms were subsequently reconstructed within the new gallery building. Original furniture, fittings and other surviving elements were incorporated into the reconstructed interiors.
The University of Glasgow describes Mackintosh House as the architect’s only surviving domestic interior in the city.
Historic Environment Scotland has proposed listing the Hunterian Art Gallery and Mackintosh House at Category A, reserved for buildings considered to be of special architectural or historic interest and outstanding examples of a particular period, style or building type.
HES said the Hunterian is a rare example of a purpose-built Scottish art gallery from the period and an important work by Whitfield, who went on to become one of the country’s leading post-war architects.
Its assessment also highlights the unusual relationship between the monumental exterior of the gallery and the Mackintosh interiors contained inside.
The proposal was announced on 25 August, the 126th anniversary of Mackintosh and Macdonald’s wedding in Glasgow in 1900.
Professor Steph Scholten, director of The Hunterian, said the proposed designation would recognise the architectural significance of the complex and its importance as a Scottish cultural landmark.
If confirmed, Category A status would put the building in the highest of Scotland’s three listed-building categories.
The public consultation on the proposal will remain open until 6 October 2026, after which Historic Environment Scotland will consider responses before reaching a final decision.