The Lighthouse

Scotland's centre for design and architecture occupies a converted building off Buchanan Street that was originally designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the Glasgow Herald newspaper in the 1890s. Reopened as an exhibition space in 1999, it hosts displays on architecture, urban design and Mackintosh's own work. A helical staircase climbs the old water tower to a viewing platform offering rooftop panoramas across the city centre. The building itself, with its distinctive brickwork and detailing, is treated as an exhibit in its own right.