Project of the art school in Glasgow by Steven Holl

About a year ago, Steven Holl won a highly competitive international competition for what was then the largest construction project in Scotland, with a budget of over fifty million pounds. A new art school building in Glasgow is to be constructed in close proximity to Charles Rennie Mackintosh's art school on Renfrew Street from 1909, which is considered a masterpiece of Art Nouveau (Arts and Crafts, secese). Steven Holl collaborated with the local firm JM Architects, engineers from Arup, and in mid-September presented a refined competition design that features a restrained mass wrapped in a transparent matte facade with composed surfaces of clear glass allowing sufficient light into the studios while, at night, illuminating the building. Holl's design complements Mackintosh's massive structure. Holl paid great attention to ensuring that the neighboring school is not overly reflected in his glass facade. "We didn’t want to copy or imitate Mackintosh’s building; that would be wrong, kitschy, and disrespectful. Instead, we are building a counterpart to Mackintosh’s school, which has thick skin and slender bones, one that, on the other hand, has thin skin and strong bones." Nevertheless, the historical building provides numerous inspirations that are interpreted in a modern way in the new structure. The architects aimed to bring plenty of daylight into the studios and workshops, as Mackintosh successfully did a hundred years ago. For this reason, Steven Holl incorporates "voids of light" into the building in many places, where direct lighting will enter the building throughout the year. The completion of the building is scheduled for 2013, but first, the city council and financial representatives must weigh in on the project.