Fire Damages Glasgow School of Art

One day after a fire ravaged Charles Rennie Mackintosh's masterpiece, Glasgow School of Art chair Muriel Gray described the building as "bruised and battered but most certainly not destroyed." A projector exploded in the school's basement around noon on Friday, apparently starting the fire that spread throughout the west side of the building.

Firefighters managed to control the blaze without too much destruction – approximately 90 of the building is intact, with 70 percent of its contents saved – but unfortunately, as Gray further said, "we have lost the iconic and unique Mackintosh library. This is an enormous blow and we are understandably devastated."

With everybody in the building escaping safely, concerns now go to salvaging the students' work (they were on their last day of school before the end-of-year exhibition) and rebuilding parts of the school that were damaged. Gray said in terms of the former: "Tragically many students have lost some or all of their work, but many others have had theirs preserved, and curators and academic staff can expect to be allowed to enter the building in the next few days to try and assess what can be salvaged."

In regards to rebuilding, Gray further stated: "Mackintosh was not famous for working in precious materials. It was his vision that was precious and we are confident that we can recreate what was lost as faithfully as possible."

Given the stature of Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art – and the sympathy that unfolded in real time on Friday around the world, particularly via Twitter – it's not surprising that the UK government is already promising however much money is needed to restore the "priceless gem."