Glasgow’s School of Art set to rise from the ashes

Architects’ groups from all over the world are expected to pitch for the work to rebuild the Charles Rennie Mackintosh masterpiece, which was devastated by fire in May.

A flurry of expressions of interest is expected just before tomorrow’s deadline. Between five and eight groups will then be selected to present a pitch for the restoration, hopefully by February.

Six months on from the blaze, it’s the latest step towards the iconic building rising from the ashes. However, it could be five years or more before the most prized part the library is finally ready.

Cash has flooded in for the work with the fundraising campaign backed by celebrities including Brad Pitt but there’s still a long way to go to reach the £20m target. The current tally stands at £7m.

Such is the sheer scale and sensitivity of the work that it’s thought work on the Grade 1 listed building won’t begin until 2016 and it will take until 2018 before the main part of the work is completed.

The blaze, which began in the basement when a projector burst into flames, swept through the building on Friday, May 23. It began as students prepared for their end-of-term degree show and many lost the portfolios they’d worked so hard to put together.

The fire brings back emotional memories for Liz Sumner, from Glasgow. She lost every single piece of her degree work in the inferno.

She recalls: “Of course, thankfully everyone was unhurt, but losing all that work was horrendous, quite a shock really. It took me the whole summer to get my energy back.”

Painter Sophie Nicoll, 22, from London, was working on her final year work when the fire alarm went off. She had no choice but to stand and watch as the flames spread and every single one of her creations was reduced to a pile of ash.

“I’d spent pretty much all year on it and lost everything,” she said. “At the time, it was heartbreaking, but thankfully it’s behind me now.”

What has helped Liz, Sophie and others to move on is a special bursary called a Phoenix Award, which was given to 100 artists impacted by the fire in a bid to help them create new portfolios.

The programme will offer them the chance to showcase their work in a special exhibition in March, a substitute for the end-of-year degree show they never had.

Sophie added: “If anything, it has led me to be a bit less precious about my work in the sense I now know I can create more that’s the great thing about the Phoenix bursary.”

Postgraduate sculptor Amy Thornton, 25, from Milton Keynes, was another badly hit by the blaze, but is now also thriving. She said: “I lost everything. It was tragic. I almost feel as if I’m still grieving for them.

“Of course, six months later everyone is moving on and, as I want to be an artist, that means producing new work for galleries and exhibitions, which the bursary gives me the freedom to do.”

Director of the school, Professor Tom Inns, said: “We have been bowled over by the support we have received from the academic community since the fire.

“The generosity of our sister schools within the UK and overseas is enabling these talented artists to have the vital space and time to make new work.”

The fire crews who rushed to the scene were hailed as heroes and their efforts saved 90% of the building and 70% of the contents.

Group manager Iain Goodlet was one of 200 firefighters who spent hours tackling the blaze and days embarking on a huge clear-up.

He said: “I’ve seen some big fires in my time, but this was definitely one of the biggest. It was a once in a career event. The most phenomenal thing is that nobody was injured and no lives were lost. All the firefighters involved did a stellar job.

“It’s great, just six months on, to hear of so much progress and such phenomenal support for the restoration programme. Hopefully, in a few years’ time, we’ll see this magnificent masterpiece start to take shape again.”