immediately started making investigations, and by the late 1940s, at least eight different sites were considered. Mugdock Castle Estate, near Milngavie, was seriously considered, even though it was much closer to Glasgow than the stipulated ). In 1951, the Dougalston estate, also near Milngavie, was gifted to Glasgow by the widow of a Glasgow shipbuilder on the condition that the Burrell Collection be constructed on the site. Preparations got to an advanced stage, but in 1955, the National Coal Board announced plans to sink a coal mine nearby. All plans for the Burrell Collection were abandoned and collection remained in storage for many years. The ideal solution finally arrived with the offer of Pollok House and its estate to the city of Glasgow. This was the ancestral home of the Stirling Maxwells on the south side of Glasgow. It was only from the city centre, but its 360-acre parkland made it an ideal rural setting that was within the spirit of Sir William’s ambitions for his museum. After long and protracted negotiations, the government stepped in with financial support of £250,000 for the museum. In 1967, the Pollok estate was transferred to the city, and preparations to build the Burrell Collection finally got underway. Building In 1970, an architectural competition was launched to identify a suitable architect for the museum. The competition brief made it clear that whilst the competitors were to comply with Burrell’s exacting conditions, they were at liberty to design ‘a fine modern building’ which would make the most out of both the collection and the site. The closing date for the competition for the museum building in 1971 was delayed by a postal strike, allowing time for the eventual winning architect Barry Gasson to complete his entry, designed in collaboration with John Meunier and Brit Andresen, all tutors at Cambridge University’s School of Architecture. As the project progressed, the costs increased, and this jeopardized the museum. Glasgow Corporation approached the government for additional support. The Secretary of State for Scotland promised to meet 50 percent of the estimated £9.6 million cost in recognition that the Burrell Collection was not just important for Glasgow, but was a national treasure that would benefit the country as a whole. Construction work commenced on 3 May 1978 and continued over the next five years the complex. The building was influenced by Scandinavian design. The architects used the orientation of the