Steven Holl completes the Reid Building, the latest addition to the Glasgow School of Art campus
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is famous for its Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed 1909 building, but soon there will be one more reason for architecture buffs to flock to the northern city. American architect Steven Holl has designed a contemporary addition to the school's campus, the Reid Building, which will house the GSA's design department.
Named after the Dame Seona Reid who stood down as director of the GSA last summer, the building sits opposite the art school (which will remain in the Mackintosh building) and the architecture school (located around the corner from these two, and to the west). The new structure is unfussy and monochrome, featuring an external skin of semi-transparent acid etched glass panels with a green tint - which is in fact the glass' natural colour. The building's only other splash of colour is GSA alumni Martin Boyce's stunning coloured glass art piece, which adorns the main entrance.
The design and building process was quick and efficient. 'The concepts we started with are still there,' says project architect Chris McVoy. The new addition's massing was designed to complement and echo Mackintosh's masterpiece, however, in its structure, the building's concept was reversed. As McVoy explains, the Mackintosh building has a 'thick skin and a thin frame', made from stone and metal respectively. In contrast, the Reid building features a thin skin with little adornment and a thick, robust concrete frame. Its white, sculptural interiors are simple and almost raw, providing an appropriately blank canvas for the students' creative work.
It is, however, a very technological building, its arcs and sweeping curves created with state-of-the-art digital and concrete technology and painstaking precision. 'We push the technology of our day, as Mackintosh pushed the craft of his day,' explains McVoy. Three 'driven voids of light' cut through the structure acting as large light shafts and helping with natural air circulation. Their base also provides unexpected breakout spaces for relaxation and socialising. Additionally, as McVoy explains, throughout the building 'the circulation space is also a place for social interaction'.
The layout is easy to read, designed across seven levels and housing workshop areas, offices, galleries and an auditorium. Big, north facing windows light the studio spaces and a café on the third level spills out to a green terrace overlooking the Mackintosh building. 'The studios are the building blocks of our design - the forms are determined by how the light comes in,' explains McVoy, 'and the Mackintosh building was our starting point'.
The school is gearing up towards its new building's official inauguration this April. As well as seeing the new structure - created with the help of local firm JM Architects and Arup Engineering - visitors will now be able to see the original building from different angles too. 'We made an effort to create new views of the Mackintosh building,' says McVoy, paying fitting homage to the great Scottish master's work.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Sarah Solis’ first furniture collection is an homage to art deco
‘Is it weird to call furniture sexy?’ Los Angeles-based designer Sarah Solis discusses her debut furniture line and new brand and store, Galerie Solis
By Dan Howarth Published
-
‘Very Roman, very Bulgari’: Mary Katrantzou on the ancient roots of her opulent first accessories collection for Bulgari
Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, Bulgari’s new creative director of leather goods and accessories, breaks down her debut ‘Calla’ collection for Wallpaper*
By Jack Moss Published
-
First look: Western Mongolia meets Kew Gardens in John Pawson and Oyuna Tserendorj’s cashmere throws
Architectural designer John Pawson and cashmere designer Oyuna Tserendor have collaborated on a cashmere throw collection inspired by Pawson’s 70m Lake Crossing in the Royal Botanical Gardens
By Scarlett Conlon Published
-
River Wing at Clare College responds to its historic Cambridge heritage
University of Cambridge opens its new River Wing on Clare College Old Court, uniting modern technology with historic design
By Clare Dowdy Published
-
UCL East Marshgate seeks to redefine the university campus of the future
UCL East Marshgate by Stanton Williams is completed and gears up to welcome its students in east London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
St Catharine’s College social hub in Cambridge reimagined by Gort Scott
Gort Scott's design for St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, gives a sensitive facelift to a much loved, bustling campus
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Two Hands nursery by vPPR is where design flair meets sustainability
Two Hands nursery in London, designed by vPPR, mixes colourful interiors and sustainable architecture elements with wellbeing in mind
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
SANAA’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is designed to connect with the heart of Jerusalem
SANAA and local studio HQ Architects design new home for Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem's city centre
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Steven Holl Architects' Rubenstein Commons building is a seasonal delight
Rubenstein Commons building in Princeton by Steven Holl Architects is designed with the seasons and academic excellence in mind
By Martha Elliott Last updated
-
Connected Rural Classroom reimagines learning space architecture
A collaboration between design studio Kurani and nonprofit Ed Farm reimagines learning spaces through virtual teaching with the Connected Rural Classroom
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
DS+R Prior Performing Arts Center is designed as a public commons
Prior Performing Arts Center by Diller Scofidio + Renfro completes at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts
By Stephen Zacks Last updated