Media release Tuesday 8th September 2009

Glasgow School of Art selects Design Team

The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is delighted to announce that Steven Holl Architects (New York) working with Scottish based JM Architects has been selected, as the result of an international competition, to lead the team to design a new building on the site opposite the world famous Mackintosh Building in Garnethill, Glasgow.

Steven Holl Architects is a leading New York based practice which has been recognized internationally with some of architecture’s most prestigious awards and prizes. These include recent awards from the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Incorporation of British Architects for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the School of Art at Iowa University. Awards have also recognised their commitment to sustainable design. Recent work includes the Herning Centre for the Arts in Denmark and a major development in Beijing where they also have an office. They will work with Henry McKeown and Ian Alexander, award winning directors from the Glasgow office of JM Architects.

The brief for Steven Holl’s team is to work with GSA to refine the Masterplan for GSA’s Garnethill estate redevelopment and to design and deliver Phase 1, a new building to significantly enhance the teaching, learning and research facilities available to GSA students and staff and the access which the public can have to their work. The building will sit opposite the Mackintosh Building, recently voted the UK’s favourite building of the past 175 years in a national survey run by the Royal Incorporation of British Architects. The in principle support of the Scottish Funding Council has been essential in enabling the School to move to this stage.

continues over It is particularly appropriate that this announcement comes just over 100 years after The Glasgow School of Art held its first architectural competition when it invited submissions from 11 architects’ practices for a new school in the centre of the city. The winner was 28- year-old Charles Rennie Mackintosh (then working for Honeyman and Keppie), whose Mackintosh Building, will remain at the heart of the new urban campus and the educational experience of every GSA student.

This 2009 competition, which was to find an architect-led team and not to select a design, received submissions from over 150 international firms from which seven were shortlisted (in alphabetical order): Benson & Forsyth (London, UK); Elder and Cannon (Glasgow, UK); Francisco Mangado Architects with ZM Architects (Pamplona, Spain and Glasgow ); Grafton Architects (Dublin, Ireland); Hopkins (London, UK); John McAslan and Partners with Nord Architects (London and Glasgow); Steven Holl Architects with JM Architects (New York and Glasgow).

The final and unanimous decision was reached after a rigorous process, against set evaluation criteria, of submissions, presentations and interviews, by a Selection Committee chaired by Barcelona based architect, David Mackay. The Selection Committee considered that Steven Holl Architects’ work showed a poetic use of light and their submission demonstrated a singular creative vision, scale of ambition, profound clarity and a respectful rivalry for the Mackintosh Building. The Committee believed that Holl’s approach to the craft of building, his understanding of the opportunities of new technology and an enjoyment of the challenges of sustainable design, promised a great step forward in the development of architecture in an urban setting.

Seona Reid, Director of The Glasgow School of Art said: “This is the next major step in transforming Glasgow School of Art’s rather poor estate into spaces for learning, teaching, research and engagement with the public which are fit for their purpose, meet the needs of our staff and students and support their ambitions. I am absolutely confident, as was the Selection Committee, that our collaboration with Steven Holl Architects and theirs with JM

continues over Architects will produce a world class building for the School and for Glasgow, an inspiring environment for our staff and students, an inventive and worthy companion to Mackintosh and a building of which we will all be immensely proud. The selection of the architect to lead this important project was a demanding process for all concerned. We have been incredibly impressed by the hard work, creativity, and commitment given to it by all seven of the shortlisted teams and we thank them for it. I also want to thank the eight members of the Selection Committee, chaired by David Mackay, whose enthusiasm for their task and the insights they brought to the process were absolutely invaluable”

The Chair of the Selection Committee David Mackay said: ”This has been an extraordinary and innovative international competition process to find an architect, rather than a design. In Steven Holl Architects, who demonstrated his poetic use of natural light to enhance the spatial itineries of his beautifully crafted buildings, and sensitive response to this site, we have an architect ready to meet the challenges of designing opposite the Mackintosh Building”

Steven Holl, architect, said: “We are thrilled to be selected for this very important project for the new Glasgow School of Art. It is an honour to make a new architecture for a 21st century school of art across from Mackintosh’s inspiring masterwork of the early 20th century. Since my student days at the University of Washington the amazing Mackintosh building with its tremendous light and magical scale has been a seminal reference. Mackintosh’s manipulation of the building section for light in such a variety of inventive ways has inspired our approach toward a plan of studio volumes shaped by light and connected by a ‘Circuit of Connection’ which encourages the creative contact central to the workings of the school.

100 years after completion, Mackintosh’s building continues to inspire as a work of architecture and a place to make art. The invention of an original architectural language is a fresh today as it was then. Its intensity of detail, light and material calls for the highest aspirations of a phenomenologically-driven architecture of our time. We feel the urgency of recovering the integral action of “thinking and making” in the use of the highest new technologies available. We imagine the new Glasgow School of Art to be a celebration of

continues over Knowledge: the phenomenological and experiential joys of perception supercharged by the techniques of tomorrow.”

Nick Kuenssberg, Chairman of the Board of GSA said "The Board is excited by the transformational impact the selection of Steven Holl Architects will have, working with Scotland’s own JM Architects. This will create 21st century facilities which will benefit our students and staff and their educational experience, and will enhance both the setting of the Mackintosh Building and the wider community of Garnethil. This is a very significant day for the GSA, for Glasgow and for Scotland”.

Malcolm Reading of Malcolm Reading Consultants who organized the competition process said: “We are delighted that the competition has had such a successful conclusion. The Jury’s unanimous choice of an architect who is quite clearly on the brink of widespread international recognition is a wonderful endorsement of the competitive process. Steven Holl’s thoughtful and robust architectural approach has the potential to make a great building for the School and Glasgow”.

Councillor George Ryan, Executive Member for Business and the Economy, Glasgow City Council said: "This new building is certain to reflect the fantastic architectural and design standards that have given The Glasgow School of Art a worldwide reputation for excellence. It will be another key feature of the regeneration of Glasgow city centre and a vital part of our creative industries.”

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For further information or images, please contact Alison Hunter, Media Relations Officer, The Glasgow School of Art. T: +44 (0) 141 566 1442 M: +44 (0) 7939 954 836

Notes to editors:

Glasgow School of Art’s Estate redevelopment plans With the Phase 1 building set to open in readiness for the 2013/2014 academic year, and Phase 2 planned to follow soon after, the complete redevelopment of the School’s estate will transform the current incoherent and inefficient scatter of buildings across Garnethill which are no longer fit for purpose, into a coherent urban campus providing world-class teaching and research facilities and space for growth. When complete, the new estate will reinforce the GSA’s position as one of Europe’s leading art, design and architecture schools, supporting the creative entrepreneurs of tomorrow and ensuring that Glasgow maintains its position as one of Europe’s most creative cities.

With the highest design and sustainability values, the new building will be an important development in one of Glasgow’s most interesting and diverse conservation areas, significantly enhancing the setting for the Grade A listed Mackintosh Building opposite.

Following its approval of the project’s Outline Business Plan in January 2009, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has committed up to £50 million towards the Phase 1 building; conditional on approval of the full business case to be submitted at Design Stage D in accordance with recognized gateway approval processes.

The SFC has also said it is committed to discussing and agreeing with the School a funding package for future phases.

The full estate redevelopment will be financed through a combination of Scottish Funding Council (SFC) support, School cash balances, land sales, borrowing and philanthropic sources.

Contracts for the appointment of Steven Holl Architects will be ratified following the formal completion of the EU Procurement Process on Friday, September 25th.

continues over The Glasgow School of Art (www.gsa.ac.uk) ƒ Founded in 1845 as a Government School of Design, GSA is one of the UK’s oldest and pre-eminent higher education institutions in architecture, design and fine art. ƒ In the UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise 2008, the GSA was ranked as the second largest art and design research community in the UK with 25% of research world leading and 25% internationally excellent. ƒ Has an international community of over 1700 students studying fine art, design and architecture with a growing postgraduate (Masters and PhD) population , projected to comprise 25% of our total student community ƒ Has extensive international links with leading creative institutions including the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and developing links in India with the National Institute of Design and the National Institute of Fashion Technology ƒ Has the second lowest student drop-out rate in Scotland and one of the lowest in the UK at 1.8% (HESA June 2009) ƒ In 2007, Design Week included the GSA in its HOT 50 list of design leaders saying that the GSA is a "leader in the field of design education" ƒ The Architects Journal has consistently ranked the Mackintosh School of Architecture as the top architecture school in Scotland and one of the top five in the UK based on the views of 100 major architectural practices in the UK. ƒ 30% of the Turner Prize shortlisted artists since 2005 have been GSA graduates, including the winner, Simon Starling in 2005 and GSA graduates have dominated Scotland's representation at the Venice Biennale since 2003

Steven Holl Architects (www.stevenholl.com) Steven Holl has been a practicing architect for 35 years and has been recognized with architecture’s most prestigious awards and prizes. Most recently the 2009 BBVA Foundations of Knowledge Award, his design for the Linked Hydrid, Beijing, China has been awarded the 2008 AIA New York Chapter Sustainable Design Award. Steven Holl also received the 2008 AIA New York Chapter Architecture Honor Award for the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, the

continues over 2007 RIBA International Award for the School of Art and Art History at the University of Iowa and a 2007 AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Project Award for the Whitney Water Purification Facility and Park. In 2003 he was names Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 2002 the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institute, awarded him their prestigious National Design Award in Architecture. In 2001 France bestowed the Grande Medaille d’Or upon him, for Best Architect of the Academy of Architecture; and in the same year Time Magazine declared him “America’s Best Architect” for his ‘buildings that satisfy the spirit as well as the eye’.

Steven Holl is a tenured Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture and Planning. He has lectured and exhibited widely and is a member of the American National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, the American Institute of Architects, the American Association of Museums, the Honorary Whitney Circle, the Whitnety Museum of American Art; and the International Honorary Committee, Viipuri Library of the Alvar Aalto Foundation.

The firm’s current work includes the Herning Centre for the Arts, Herning, Denmark; Cite du Surf et De L’ocean, Biarritz France; Baker Field Athletic centre, Columbia University; and the Creative and Performing Arts Centre at Princeton University.

JM Architects (www.jmarchitects.net) J M Architects has developed into one of the UK’s foremost architectural practices since its formation in 1962. It has studios in Abu Dhabi, Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, London and in 2001 merged with the office of McKeown Alexander in Glasgow, winners of RIBA, Saltire and GIA awards and a Mies van der Rohe nomination.

Henry McKeown has been an architect for over 20 years and has a broad range of professional experience. His work, particularly in collaboration with Ian Alexander, has been widely published and has received a significant number of prestigious architectural awards. Selected project experience includes Homes for the Future, Glasgow; Graham Square, Glasgow,

continues over Laggan House, Campsie Dene, Barnton Housing and the Glasgow Canal Framework Plan.

Ian has worked in private practice for 20 years; 10 of which as senior architect for Elder + Cannon Architects, where he designed award winning housing in the Gorbals and the innovative new St Aloysius Primary School.

Scottish Funding Council (SFC) (www.sfc.ac.uk) ƒ Distributes more than £1.6 billion of public funds annually to colleges and universities on behalf of the Scottish Government ƒ Is responsible for working with Scotland’s colleges and universities to develop strategies in support of ministerial priorities 3 and securing coherent, high quality provision of further and higher education and supporting the undertaking of research. ƒ Has allocated £300 million to major capital projects in the University sector over the past three years

Malcolm Reading Consultants (www.malcolmreading.co.uk) ƒ Malcolm Reading Consultants provides independent advice and hands-on support to clients involved in building projects. ƒ Founded by Malcolm Reading in 1996, the company specialises in cultural, education and regeneration work in the UK and abroad. MRC is the leading private organiser of architectural competitions in the UK and also works internationally. ƒ Recent projects include the competitions for the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010, King’s Cross Square, British Antarctic Survey and Central Park Bridge for the London Olympic site.

continues over

Selection Committee • David Mackay, partner MBM Arquitectes, Barcelona (Chair of the Committee) • Muriel Gray, Broadcaster, Journalist • Professor Christine Hawley, Dean of the Bartlett and Head of the Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London • Professor Isi Metzstein , architect • Fred Shedden, Deputy Chair, GSA Board of Governors • Professor Seona Reid, Director ,The Glasgow School of Art • Eleanor McAllister, Managing Director Clydebank Rebuilt • Professor David Porter, Head ,Mackintosh School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art

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