The first phase of physical preparation works for rebuilding Glasgow School of Art’s fire-damaged Mackintosh building has been completed. reports Glasgow Live, as more than 5,500 of tonnes of material have been removed from the site.
image: for illustration
… meticulous stone by stone evaluation of what in the building could be retained…
Glasgow Live writes:
The world-renowned building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was extensively damaged when a blaze broke out late on June 15 2018 as it neared the end of a £35 million restoration project following a previous fire in May 2014.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) investigation was unable to establish how the 2018 blaze started and recorded the origin and cause as ‘undetermined’. Following the completion of the SFRS investigation, Glasgow School of Art (GSA) carried out a meticulous stone by stone evaluation of what in the building could be retained and what should be taken down….
More than 5,500 of tonnes of fire-damaged material have been removed from the site.
Phase Two of the project, which includes enabling works for the faithful reinstatement of the building – the preferred option identified in the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) in 2021 – is now under way.
GSA director Professor Penny Macbeth said: “Over the last two years we have been working in parallel on clearing and assessing the building and undertaking important preparation work for the rebuild including commissioning a Strategic Outline Business Case which identified faithful reinstatement as the most appropriate way forward for the building, and commencing the procurement of the three key teams, who will work with us on the rebuild.
“Our vision for the Mackintosh Building is that it will be home for a GSA Graduate School bringing together our postgraduate students with researchers from across the globe who are making world-leading, innovative work.
“We will also bring back to their original use key spaces such as the drawing studios, which will be timetabled for all students, recognising that drawing is already a distinctive and defining attribute of the GSA graduate.
“Partnership will be at the heart of the rebuild, and we will continue to collaborate with a wide range of people as we work to bring back this remarkable and inspirational building for our students and staff and a major resource for our community and for the city.”
