IT WILL BE a gleaming new addition to the Glasgow skyline boasting a unique three-storey canvas of contemporary art.
Glasgow’s School of Art (GSA) has unveiled new images of its plans to redevelop the former Stow College building in the centre of the city, a landmark which stands right next to the M8.
Among the visual highlights for traffic and passers-by will be a large scale work by artist Ross Sinclair which will adorn the exterior of the campus.
The reborn brick 1930s building will be topped with a serrated copper roof extension which will be studded with with large windows to gaze over the north and west of the city.
Its designed has been inspired by those of Garnethill with the glinting canopy added to the former technical college as it is transformed into a new home for GSA students - a plan its architects say will “bring new life to a cherished Glasgow landmark.”
Designed by BDP architects, the building will offer Fine Art students unrivalled views.
This will be created by the removal of the current top floor, which was added in the 1960s and “is of much lower standard than the original building” the GSA said.
GSA said the newly revamped building, part of an £80 million campus redevelopment plan, could last for 100 years and will come into operation for the 2018/19 academic year.
The new extension will be designed to meet the needs of the Painting and Printmaking with “top-lit north-facing windows ensuring a substantial provision of wall space”.
The building’s redesign includes refurbishment of the five floors of the original 1930s building and glazing over the sizeable interior light wells to form two atria.
The new designs place a large sculpture inside a large atrium, a detail added as an “indicative” guide to what could be placed inside the building, rather than a prediction.
BDP Architects said in a statement: “We have sought to develop a scheme that has a contextual relationship to the linear pitched forms of Garnethill, with refined details in robust materials and to develop architecture that resonates with Glasgow’s industrial heritage – without being pastiche or crude.”
Professor Tom Inns, director of the GSA, said the designs are aimed at meeting the specific needs of fine art internally while also paying “tribute to Glasgow’s industrial heritage externally”.
He added: “The Stow Building has been a distinctive part of Glasgow’s educational landscape for over 80 years.”
Scott Mackenzie, chair of BDP and the project’s principle architect, added: “This project not only brings new life to a cherished Glasgow landmark, but also provides the School of Fine Art with inspirational and truly world class teaching and learning spaces.”
The refurbished ground floor will include specialist workshops in spaces that had historically been used for technical education including boiler making, foundry work and vehicle building, alongside newly created studios.
The next four floors will offer studio space for undergraduate and post-graduate fine art students and academic offices.
The Stow College building was sold as part of an education shake up in the city - Glasgow Kelvin College was formed after the merger of John Wheatley, North Glasgow and Stow Colleges as part of a Scotland-wide programme of re-organisation.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel