James Taylor-Foster reports for Archdaily: Five Teams Shortlisted To Restore Mackintosh’s Glasgow School Of Art.
It has been announced that five teams are the running to restore Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s celebrated school of art in Glasgow. UK based John McAslan + Partners (who restored Mackintosh’s last major commission), Scottish practice Page \ Park, and London and Hong-Kong based architects Purcell are all in the frame to lead the restoration of the Mackintosh Building amid a debate over how best to approach the rebuilding of the library and the areas of the building that were devastated by fire in May of last year.
The selection of Avanti Architects and LDN Architects complete the rostra. Fourteen practices, from over one hundred initial expressions of interest, formally submitted documents in the first round of the tender. The five successful bidders now have nine weeks to put forward more detailed proposals and specific costings. The brief, which emphasises the GSA’s wish to use this opportunity to create an art school which is fit for the 21st century whilst still ackowleding and respecting the original listed building, allows the practices to decide whether or not to “pursue detailed reconstruction or a more creative response.” A spokeswoman talking to BDOnline asked: “do they turn the clock back to May 2014 when the fire broke out, to 1909 when Mackintosh signed it off, or a third way?”
According to Liz Davidson, Mackintosh Restoration Project Director at the GSA, “all of the shortlisted practices have a strong record in undertaking major restoration and work in historic buildings together with an impressive commitment to the use of new technology and the finest craftsmanship. They each bring the level of experience and expertise that is vital to the restoration of Mackintosh’s masterpiece. We are now looking forward to hearing more about their proposed approaches.” The final proposals will be put to a panel of GSA staff and external specialists in March. It is expected that the winner will be announced towards the end of March.
