{"id":6323,"date":"2026-04-09T09:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/?p=6323"},"modified":"2026-04-10T15:20:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:20:03","slug":"glasgows-burning-problem-is-a-symptom-of-a-greater-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/angesfinanciers.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/09\/glasgows-burning-problem-is-a-symptom-of-a-greater-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"“Glasgow’s burning problem is a symptom of a greater failure”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Aftermath<\/div>\n

It’s no coincidence that so many of Glasgow<\/a>‘s heritage buildings are succumbing to fire, writes conservation<\/a> architect Matt Loader<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For supposedly the rainiest city in the UK, Glasgow has a pervasive issue with buildings catching fire. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Since I arrived in 2004, it feels the rate of buildings burning down has been accelerating. We lost the category A-listed Elgin Place Church<\/a> (AKA the Shack) to fire within a month of my arrival, and then Glasgow’s most famous building \u2013 Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s School of Art<\/a> has burned down not once<\/a>, but twice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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These fires are not isolated, unfortunate incidents<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Now, the Category B-listed Forsyth House on Union Street, adjacent to Glasgow Central Station, is the latest in a series of losses of our heritage.<\/p>\n

All of this begs the question: why are so many historic buildings in Glasgow burning down? There has always been an undercurrent of suspicion swirling within our city whenever these fires occur; why is it that heritage buildings have been mysteriously catching fire?<\/p>\n

These fires are not isolated, unfortunate incidents. They are the consequences of a system that lacks the teeth to protect buildings before fire, decay or neglect take their toll.<\/p>\n