Glasgow School of Art restoration contract awarded to Keir Construction
Kier Construction has won the £25 million contract to to oversee the restoration of the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art (GSA).
Kier Construction has won the £25 million contract to to oversee the restoration of the fire-damaged Glasgow School of Art (GSA).
Students were preparing for their degree shows in May 2014 when flames engulfed the Grade A-listed Charles Rennie Mackintosh building.
The roof and much of the wooden structure inside part of the building was largely destroyed by the fire but millions of pounds have been raised towards its restoration.
Kier Construction will start work in July to make the building wind and watertight before work begins on replacing the roof and damaged stonework.
GSA said the main work to restore the west wing and upgrade the east wing interior of the school will start next year.
Kier will work with Page\Park Architects and be responsible for co-ordinating all aspects of the main reconstruction, with specialists to be appointed to work on restoring stained glass, lighting and some of the art work.
Brian McQuade, Kier Construction Scotland managing director, said: "The Glasgow School of Art is an internationally-recognised building and it's a huge honour to be working on restoring such a culturally-significant project.
"Kier has extensive experience on working on iconic buildings including the Royal Opera House and the recently-announced Edinburgh College of Art, and our appointment is testament to the dedication and talent of the team.
"We are committed to working closely with the local supply chain, specialist conservators, local artists, students from the GSA and other industry training and employment groups to create valuable training, apprenticeship and employment opportunities throughout this restoration.
"We hope to also be able to attract a diverse range of new talent to the industry through our work on this historic and much-loved building.''
Liz Davidson, Mackintosh restoration senior project manager, said: "The team they have assembled has a depth of experience and knowledge combined with solid construction methodology and practice.
"They convinced GSA of their organisational abilities to deliver a highly-successful project, deliver good community benefits for local employment targets and social enterprises, and engage with the range of skilled crafts people and sub-contractors which will be essential to move this project from excellent to world-class.''