Glasgow School of Art Seeks Design Team

The Glasgow School of Art, burning last May
Photo via: STV News

Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is looking for an “architect-led, multi-disciplinary design team,” Design Week reports. The studio, which is to be appointed in early 2015, will oversee the extensive restoration work needed after the school’s Mackintosh building went up in flames last May, destroying much of the students’ final year projects.

GSA was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of Britain’s most prominent champions of Art Nouveau, and built in two phases between 1899 and 1909.

There’s been an outpouring of support for the school, which says it is, “wholly committed to reconstructing and restoring the Mackintosh Building to its full use as a working school of art and its architectural glory.”

While 90 percent of the structure and 70 percent of the content could be saved—including the Mackintosh Museum, the Mackintosh Room, the Furniture Gallery, and most of the GSA archive—the library, crown jewel of the building, was extensively damaged.

The UK government has pledged £5 million to GSA’s Mackintosh Appeal, a campaign aiming to raise £20 million to restore the building, which is also supported by A-listers including Brad Pitt and Dr Who actor Peter Capaldi.

But despite the global sympathy provoked by the fire, the school is still far from reaching its fundraising target. According to Design Week, only £6.5 million have been secured so far (including the UK government’s grant).

The details of the selection process for the design team will be announced in September 2014.


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