Scotland's national centre for architecture and design has gone into administration following long-running financial difficulties.

The Lighthouse in Glasgow saw its revenue fall during the recession, leaving it unable to overcome a budget deficit.

The gallery, housed in an A-listed Charles Rennie Mackintosh building in the city centre, will remain open while administrators assesses its finances. It employs 57 full and part-time staff.

Eleanor McAllister, chair of The Lighthouse Trust charity, said the decision to call in administrators was "heartbreaking".

She said: "We know the devastating effect this will have on our staff and on the partners working with us on our projects.

"We have done everything possible to avoid this but the options before us were very limited in the current economic downturn."

A crisis package - put together with support from the centre's main funders, Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government - could not save it.

The Lighthouse opened in 1999 and has staged exhibitions and organised festivals and other events.

The Lighthouse Trust say that they hope to find a way for it to continue to fulfill its "vital role" as Scotland's national centre for architecture and design.