A battle is brewing in Cardross, Scotland over the uncertain future of St. Peter's Seminary, a 1960s-era Brutalist complex that has been abandoned for nearly 30 years. 

Widely considered Scotland's most important 20th Century structure, the seminary was designed by architects Gillespie, Kidd & Coia and opened in 1966 only to be abandoned in the 1980s. 

Wrapped in concrete arches and punctuated by a stepped atrium, the pebble-studded complex has been referred to as both Scotland’s best and worst 20th Century building. The seminary was listed as a "Category A" architectural relic in 1992, the country's highest designation for historic buildings. But even with this designation, plans to rehabilitate the structure have fallen short. 

Scottish architecture expert Alan Dunlop told the BBC, "I would go as far as saying this building is as important as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art." 

Historic Environment Scotland, the country's "lead public body set up to investigate, care for, and promote Scotland’s historic environment," estimates that rehabilitating the building would cost in excess of $16.5 million over 20 years to maintain the building and make it safe for public access, according to the BBC. The amount is too high for government officials, who have declined a formal request to take the building into state stewardship.

For more information on the history of the St. Peter's Seminary saga, see St Peter's, Cardross: Birth, Death and Renewal by Diane M Watters.