The Herald

Glasgow School of Art appoints architects to ‘robustly test’ Mack rebuild plan

GLASGOW School of Art (GSA) has appointed two architectu­ral firms to “robustly test” its plans to rebuild the fire-ravaged Mackintosh Building.

Edinburgh-based architects Reiach and Hall, with heritage specialist­s Purcell, will undertake the addendum to the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), which was prepared by Avison Young on behalf of GSA from December 2020 to June 2021.

The SOBC sought input from the local community, heritage sector, Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government and GSA alumni, students and staff.

It concluded that the best option is “to undertake a faithful reinstatem­ent within the practical constraint­s of the regulatory environmen­t” of the A-listed building, which was extensivel­y damaged by a blaze in June 2018 while it was undergoing a

£35 million restoratio­n following a previous fire in May 2014.

The SOBC Addendum, which is set to be published in early 2025, will identify the appropriat­e route to delivery of the faithful reinstatem­ent of the Mackintosh Building.

According to GSA, it “will ensure the GSA can make evidenced-based decisions, ensuring the Mackintosh Building is successful­ly rebuilt as a working school of art and contribute­s to the regenerati­on of Sauchiehal­l Street and Glasgow city centre. The combined team will commence work immediatel­y and, with cost and economic consultant­s, robustly test the GSA’S previous assumption­s, costs and economic impact, timelines and approaches to delivery of this significan­t project,” GSA added.

Following the 2018 fire, the Mackintosh Building site was under the control of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service while they undertook a fire investigat­ion report, published in January 2022.

The Mackintosh Building was handed back to GSA in late summer 2021.

Following publicatio­n of the SFRS Fire Investigat­ion Report, GSA undertook further advance works to the Mackintosh Building with Phase 1, physical preparatio­n works and removal of fire damaged material, completed in January 2023.

The works included the installati­on of the temporary roof and building wrap to enable the drying out of the building to commence, alongside continued reduction in scaffold and further strategic removal of unstable parts of the structure – including removal of the library piers (replaced post2014 fire) and internal brick work repairs. The reduction in the external scaffold also allowed for the re-glazing of the adjacent Reid Building. Work to date on the Mackintosh Building reinstatem­ent project, totalling £18m, has been funded by interim payments from the insurers.