Almost 12 months after the Glasgow School of Art launched a contest to find an architect to oversee rebuilding work on the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed building, the search has been abandoned and restarted.
In a statement, the school blamed a “technical error in the scoring matrix used in the procurement process”.
It said a new invitation would be issued ‘in due course’ following a ‘thorough’ review and that it remained committed to its original restoration timetable.
Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney said the news was the “latest in a long line of setbacks” for the rebuild, which he described as “an unmitigated disaster from the outset.”
The restoration of the building, that dates back to 1909, is expected to cost more than £100 million and take until 2030 to complete.
More than 5,500 tonnes of fire-damaged material have been removed ahead of the reinstatement of the A-listed building’s internal structure and the installation of a temporary roof over the next few months.
The architectural significance of the building and its place within the cultural landscape of Glasgow is matched with the influence the Art School has had on local music, fashion, literature and social interactions.
GSA has attracted many of Glasgow’s most creative people. Here are some famous faces who studied at Glasgow School of Art.
1. Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi formed a punk band called The Dreamboys with future American chat show host Craig Ferguson while he was studying at Glasgow School of Art. He got his big break in legendary Scottish film Local Hero and since then has starred in over 40 movies and televsion programmes, including as spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It and the titular lead role in Doctor Who. Photo: Anthony Harvey
2. Robbie Coltrane
Beloved for his portrayal of Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, the sorely-missed Robbie Coltrane attended the Glasgow School of Art in the early 70s. A huge figure in the worlds of Scottish television and film, his many appearances included Cracker, The Young Ones, Blackadder and Tutti Frutti - along with the James Bond films Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough. Photo: Ian Gavan
3. Alasdair Gray
Author and artist Gray originally studied at Glasgow School of Art, from 1952-57, and it was whilst there he began to write sections of what would later become his most critically acclaimed novel, Lanark, published in 1981. Photo: Geraint Lewis/Shutterstock
4. John Byrne
Paisley-born artist and playwright John Byrne graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1963. He went on to create the BBC Scotland series Tutti Frutti, which starred another Art School student, Robbie Coltrane - scenes from the series were filmed in the library of the Mackintosh building. Photo: Neil Hanna/TSPL