The experimental building material used in Hill House allowed water to soak in and resulted in dampness throughout it.
A pioneering chainmail box was installed in 2019 and it has been successful in allowing the house to dry out slowly.
The protective cage is made of steel and took five months to build, and has been helped dry the building out since it was created.
The National Trust for Scotland has now received extra funding for its Mackintosh Illuminated project and part of the money will go towards securing a future for the building in Helensburgh.
The £1.1 million package is the first step towards completing a highly ambition project to celebrate the work of Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald.
The news comes after the conversation charity worked with the Trustees of Mackintosh at the Willow and acquired the tearoom on Sauchiehall Street which was struggling due to the impact of the pandemic and two fires at the Glasgow School of Art.
It means the National Trust for Scotland cares for two of the couple’s most important surviving and publicly accessible masterpieces of design.
The will be the focus of the Mackintosh Illuminated which the conservation charity says will put a spotlight on the design duo, sharing, celebrating and inspiring as many as possible with their creativity.
The National Trust for Scotland says the project will help make Mackintosh and Macdonald better known and appreciated both international and at home through the creation of an online learning resource, and an expanded programme of property-based community and education work in both Helensburgh and Glasgow.
The funding will now help resolve the longstanding damp issue in Hill House as well as provide updated, permanent visitor facilities including a café, shop and toilet at the site on Upper Colquhoun Street.
National Trust for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Long OBE said: “We are enormously grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for this generous grant which will help us do all we can to make sure that Mackintosh and Macdonald get the recognition globally and at home that their brilliant design and creativity merit.
“As the charity privileged to care for some of the finest remaining examples of the couple’s work, we feel strongly that their contribution should be better understood and celebrated.
“With the Hill House and the Mackintosh at the Willow at the centre of all our work, we will engage with more people in person and online, to tell the story of their creation and the inspiring people involved in those visionary ventures.
“And, as a conservation charity, we will protect both buildings to be enjoyed and experienced long into the future. At the Hill House, this means, continuing our work to solve its century-long issue with damp, both preserving this masterpiece and pioneering methods that add to the global conservation sector’s knowledge of how to care for and repair 20th century buildings, and helping train new craftspeople who can carry out work like this in the future.
“At the Mackintosh at the Willow, that means ensuring that this excellent experience thrives under the Trust’s care and continues to grow and contribute to a much-needed revitalisation of Sauchiehall Street and to Glasgow’s heritage as a whole.
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“It was just a year ago that the future was in doubt for the tearoom. Now this new funding means the future looks bright, both for the Mackintosh at the Willow and for the appreciation of Mackintosh and Macdonald and their unique take on, and place in, nature, beauty and heritage.”
Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland said: “Conserving the architectural masterpiece of the Hill House and enabling the National Trust for Scotland to tell the story of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s creative collaboration is hugely important.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, the Hill House and the stunning Mackintosh at the Willow on Sauchiehall Street will together enable visitors to explore the work of these two artistic virtuosos whose influence stretches around the world.”
