He had already gifted 48 paintings and 30 prints to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in 1925, and much of his collection was already on semi-permanent display there, particularly the Chinese works.

Burrell had clear intentions regarding the collection's location, contents and display, and the agreement stated that the collection was to be housed by Glasgow Corporation "in a suitable distinct and separated building" that was to be "within four miles [six kilometres] of Killearn, Stirlingshire, and not less than sixteen miles [26 kilometres] from Glasgow Royal exchange.

It was only 3 miles (4.8 km) from the city centre, but its 360-acre (150 ha) parkland made it an ideal rural setting that was within the spirit of Burrell's ambitions for his 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.

The Secretary of State for Scotland promised to meet 50 per cent 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.

The building is L-shaped in plan and is tailored to house and display the collection, with larger pieces such as Romanesque doorways built into the structure, at the same time giving views out into the park over formal grassed areas to the south and into adjacent woodland to the north.

More than a million visitors passed through its doors in the first year, and the Burrell Collection quickly established itself as one of Glasgow's most-loved buildings.

It was named as Scotland's second greatest post-war building (after Gillespie, Kidd & Coia's St Peter's Seminary, now derelict) in a poll of architects by Prospect magazine in 2005.

[17] On 29 March 2022, the museum reopened to the public,[1] with King Charles III visiting on 13 October 2022 to officially re-open the venue.

He acquired items from all periods of Chinese history; including Neolithic burial urns, carved jades, porcelain from the Tang dynasty, bronze ritual vessels, earthenware figures, and antique furniture.

[3] Islamic antiques donated by Burrell to the museum include: Hispano-Moresque lustreware, ceramics and carpets from Iran and the Mughal Empire, as well as embroideries and textiles from Turkey and Uzbekistan.

[32] The museum is home to more than 700 stained glass panels from across Europe in the collection, including many examples of Gothic, Renaissance, and Romanesque styles.

In 2013, a project was commenced to conserve and research the museum's collection of stained glass from the Carmelite church at Boppard-am-Rhein, Germany.

The 34 panels that make up the Burrell collection of Boppard windows have a combined surface area of 14 square metres.