We all know and love the Mackintosh Building and mourn its sad loss to the city and indeed the world of architecture.
The Art School Board of Governors are in an impossible position, caught between financial probity and concerted action to rebuild this icon in its original form. We would all like to see this completed soon, to get the building back into use as a working art school and as a visitor attraction.
The complicated methodology required to move rebuilding forward has become bogged down in the legal and construction rules governing the procurement of a project such as this. One solution which could provide a “quick start” as well as helping to save face all round, might be one such as this :
Break the rebuilding into two separate phases, viz:
Phase 1: The West Wing exactly as per the rebuild (following 2014 fire) - lecture theatre, library, top floor studio, "hen run", Access Stair etc.
Phase 2 : The main building (subsequent fire) - main stair and gallery, studios, east wing, director’s suite etc.
Phase 1 could be procured almost immediately, by direct award, using a legally compliant, pre-tendered procurement method in three stages:
Stage 1: Appoint the original design team (in place for the rebuild of the 2014 fire) by direct award. This method of appointment is legally compliant, using a procurement method such as Scape Scotland - Consultancy Framework to re-appoint the previous Team. The previous Drawings, specifications, specialist items and details are in existence for this part of the building and could be updated as necessary, allowing a quick start to the process of rebuilding. Given the public interest this would show that something is happening “on the ground”.
Stage 2: Hand over (to the client) the previous contractor/specialist contractor’s documents prepared by the original contractor after the 2014 fire & still usable as a basis for the work required to rebuild the west wing.
Stage 3: Negotiate with an approved contractor, using the direct award method (outlined above) update the contract documentation to reflect current labour/materials rates for the trades involved. All the existing documentation could be re-used and updated.
Phase 2 (the main building) procured as a separate stage allowing sufficient time for completion of the huge amount of detailed drawings/specifications/tendering processes etc, while working on the west wing.
This would involve detailed negotiations with Building Control to obtain relaxations to the building regulations to ensure that the building can be rebuilt in its original form, with added fire protection measures.
One aspect of this rebuilding work which should also be considered is using those traditional trades used in this rebuild as an on-site visitor attraction.
I would therefore urge the Board of Governors of Glasgow School of Art to seriously consider the practical aspects of the approach outlined above, in order to get this important project under way as soon as possible.
Peter Porteous DipArch ARIAS (Retired), Regional Manager of Scape Procure Scotland (Retired), is former student at Glasgow School of Art
Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk
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