Sunday Herald
THE LIGHTHOUSE, Scotland's flagship centre for architecture and design, will close this week, The Sunday Herald has learned. Unless a last-minute solution is presented at tomorrow evening's board meeting the Glasgow institution will go into administration.
A senior source close to the board confirmed that The Lighthouse's demise was imminent, brought about by several financially mismanaged projects and what was described as "an inherently flawed business model".
It is understood that its debts of £220,000 will be covered by Glasgow City Council and the Scottish government. The Lighthouse, based in an A-listed Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building in the centre of the city, currently employs 57 people
Earlier this month it was rumoured that the board would ratify a streamlined version of the organisation, retaining 13 staff, to save it from closure. But it appears this is no longer the case and it is set to shut its doors.
Currently celebrating its 10th birthday, The Lighthouse was conceived to nurture and promote Scotland's architecture and design. But last year Glasgow City Council had to save it from closure with a £250,000 rescue package after two mishaps: it went over budget on staging Scotland's contribution at the Venice Biennale and it failed to convince the government to run a second Six Cities design festival.