SEONA REID BUILDING - THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART
GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOM
2009 - 2014
CLIENT
THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART
ARCHITECT
STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS
STEVEN HOLL, CHRIS MCVOY (DESIGN ARCHITECTS)
CHRIS MCVOY, NOAH YAFFE (PARTNER IN CHARGE)
DOMINIK SIGG (PROJECT ARCHITECT)
RYCHIEE ESPINOSA, SCOTT FREDRICKS, JONGSEO LEE, JACKIE LUK, FIORENZA MATTEONI, DIMITRA TSACHRELIA, EBBIE WISECARVER (PROJECT TEAM)
DOMINIK SIGG (COMPETITION PROJECT ARCHITECT)
PETER ADAMS, RYCHIEE ESPINOSA (COMPETITION TEAM)
ASSOCIATE ARCHITECTS
JM ARCHITECTS
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
SIR ROBERT MCALPINE
ENGINEER
OVE ARUP & PARTNERS
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
MICHAEL VAN VALKENBURGH AND ASSOCIATES
PROGRAM
ART, DESIGN, AND ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL INCLUDING STUDIOS, PROJECT SPACES, LECTURE THEATER, SEMINAR ROOMS, CAFÉ, EXHIBITION, AND ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE SPACES
SIZE
121,000 SF
STATUS
BUILT
AWARDS
ARCHITECTS JOURNAL - AJ100 BUILDING OF THE YEAR 2014, UK, 2014
THE GLASGOW INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS - SUPREME AWARD 2014, UK, 2014
THE GLASGOW INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS - EDUCATION DESIGN AWARD 2014, UK, 2014
THE GLASGOW INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS - SMALL WORKS DESIGN AWARD 2014 – GSA STUDENT UNION STAIR, UK, 2014
THE INSTITUTION OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS - BEST ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT STRUCTURE AWARD, UK, 2014
THE CONCRETE SOCIETY - CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE IN THE BUILDING (EDUCATION) CATEGORY, UK, 2014
THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART IS LOCATED IN GLASGOW’S GARNET HILL DISTRICT. THE NEW BUILDING OPPOSITE MACKINTOSH’S MASTERPIECE REPLACES TWO EXISTING BUILDINGS WHILE PRESERVING A 1930 STRUCTURE HOUSING THE STUDENT UNION AND TWO CONCERT VENUES. THIS PRESERVATION EMPHASIZES THE NOTION OF THE CITY COMPRISED OF HISTORIC LAYERS AS WELL AS BREAKING UP WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN A TENSE FACE-OFF BETWEEN THE MACKINTOSH AND REID BUILDINGS.
THE NEW REID BUILDING REPRESENTS THE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART’S PRESENCE IN THE CITY AS A 21ST CENTURY VIBRANT, CUTTING-EDGE ART SCHOOL THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY VALUES CONTINUITY WITH HISTORY.
THE REID BUILDING IS IN COMPLEMENTARY CONTRAST TO CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH’S ORIGINAL GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART, FORGING A SYMBIOTIC RELATION IN WHICH EACH STRUCTURE HEIGHTENS THE INTEGRAL QUALITIES OF THE OTHER. THE NEW AND OLD BUILDINGS, AND THE STREET SPACE BETWEEN THEM, CREATE A REVITALIZED URBAN CAMPUS FOR THE SCHOOL.
WITH WELL-PROPORTIONED STUDIO AND WORKSHOP SPACES AT THE CORE OF TEACHING AND MAKING ART, THE STUDIO SPACES IN THE REID BUILDING ARE ARRANGED IN PLAN AND SECTION WITH NATURAL SIDE AND TOP LIGHT FOR INSPIRING WORK ENVIRONMENTS. THE CLASSROOM SPACES ARE ADAPTABLE WITH POTENTIAL FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDIOS TO OPEN INTO LARGER GROUPS, AND ARRANGED WITH FUNCTIONALLY ADJACENT SUPPORT SPACES IN RHYTHM WITH THE STUDIO/WORKSHOP VOLUMES. THEY ARE ILLUMINATED WITH NORTH LIGHT AND SHAFTS OF WARM SOUTH, EAST OR WEST LIGHT.
THE “CIRCUIT OF CONNECTION” OPENS UP TO COMMUNAL SPACES FOR GATHERING, INCLUDING GREEN ROOF TERRACES WITH VIEWS OVER THE CITY AND GLIMPSES OF THE WORK INSIDE THE MACKINTOSH BUILDING STUDIOS. THE OPEN CIRCUIT OF STEPPED RAMPS LINKS ALL MAJOR SPACES — LOBBY, EXHIBITION SPACE, PROJECT SPACES, LECTURE THEATER, SEMINAR ROOMS, STUDIOS, WORKSHOPS AND GREEN TERRACES — AND ENCOURAGES THE “CREATIVE ABRASION” ACROSS AND BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS. THE STEPPED RAMPS OF THE SOCIAL CIRCUIT ALTERNATELY CURVE AROUND AND SLICE THROUGH THE DRIVEN VOIDS, OFFERING VIEWS UP TO THE SKY AND DOWN THE BUILDING’S SECTION, REVEALING THE CREATIVE ACTIVITY WITHIN.
OVER 100 YEARS AFTER ITS COMPLETION, MACKINTOSH’S BUILDING CONTINUES TO INSPIRE AS A WORK OF ARCHITECTURE AND A PLACE TO MAKE ART. THE INTENSITY OF DETAIL, LIGHT AND MATERIAL FOUND IN THE ORIGINAL BUILDING HAS INSPIRED THE PHENOMENOLOGICALLY-DRIVEN ARCHITECTURE OF THE NEW REID BUILDING, WHICH CREATES A NEW LANGUAGE OF LIGHT AND MOVEMENT.
AN HOMAGE TO MACKINTOSH IN SPACE, THREE “DRIVEN VOIDS OF LIGHT” PENETRATE THE BUILDING’S CORE AND DELIVER NATURAL LIGHT AND VERTICAL AIR CIRCULATION THROUGH THE DEPTH OF THE BUILDING. THEY REGISTER THE CHANGING INTENSITY AND COLOR OF THE SKY GIVING LIFE TO THE SPACES. AT NIGHT THE DRIVEN VOIDS ARE UPLIT WITH LED LIGHTS, REVERSING THE DIRECTION OF LIGHT.