SCOTLAND’S culture minister has paid a visit to Helensburgh to find out how the owners of the town's most famous building are tackling the iconic property’s conservation challenges.

Jenny Gilruth MSP became one of the Jenny Gilruth MSP, Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development, visited the Hill House to find out more about how conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland is tackling the iconic building’s conservation challenges.

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh with contributions by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, the Hill House in Helensburgh is one of Scotland’s architectural masterpieces, a beautiful, brilliantly original and glamourous example of Art Nouveau and the ‘Glasgow Style’.

Since the Hill House was completed in 1904, years of wind and rain have caused significant issues with water ingress.

In efforts to protect Mackintosh’s domestic masterpiece, the National Trust for Scotland built an innovative mesh structure to protect it from the weather, which has become known as the Hill House Box and was designed by Carmody Groarke.

The minister toured the Hill House and its Box, surveying the innovative work being done by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) to preserve the world-famous example of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s work for Scotland and the world.

During her visit, Ms Gilruth also became one of the first users of a new augmented reality app created by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) which allows visitors to examine the effect of the damp within the walls of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s “domestic masterpiece”.

The data which is shown in the app was gathered as part of a partnership with Historic Environment Scotland which uses cutting-edge digital technology including thermographics, 3D mapping and microwave moisture monitoring to expose the condition of the building, beneath the surface.

The Hill House Box, complete with raised walkways around the exterior of the house and over the roof, both preserves and displays the building.

The Box has been in place for three years, allowing vital conservation work to take place, and has won several architectural awards, including the RIAS Award 2021 and RIBA National Award 2021. The Box has also been nominated for the EU Mies Award 2022.

Ms Gilruth said: “The Hill House is an architectural gem that showcases the best of the ‘Glasgow style’.

“Clever technological innovations such as the Hill House Box and the new AR app help us to appreciate and protect Scotland’s architectural treasures for now and for the future.”

Philip Long OBE, chief executive of the NTS, said: “The Hill House is quite simply one of the most important 20th century buildings in Scotland, if not globally.

“The Trust is honoured to play its part in protecting a place of such significance and beauty and to sharing all we are learning as we work our way through the challenges of caring for its exceptional design, which has influenced architects around the world.”