IT is a major project that will require a high level of expertise and patience.

But the architect firm that wins the contract to rebuild the partially destroyed Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art will also come under intense scrutiny as they resurrect the world famous building.

Companies based in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Hong Kong have today been named on the short list for practices who could design the restoration of the building which was destroyed in a disastrous fire last May.

The five-strong shortlist comprises Avanti Architects, John McAslan + Partners, LDN Architects LLP, Page\Park Architects and Purcell, and their designs will all be examined in extreme detail as they resurrect Mackintosh's masterpiece.

Avanti is based in London, and its portfolio includes heritage work such as the project to bring back into use Alfred Waterhouse's 1887 Victoria Building at Liverpool University and the restoration of the Art Deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe.

Avanti is currently working with Scottish arts charity NVA on its St Peter's Seminary, Cardross project, which will transform the Grade A listed modern ruin into a cultural and education centre.

John McAslan is a Scottish architect, originally from Dunoon, and his company John McAslan + Partners is based in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

It was involved in the restoration of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's 78 Derngate in Northampton.

The practice also led the restoration of Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff's Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion in East Sussex and the Marché en Fer in Haiti.

One of the McAslan's most recent projects is the development of London's King's Cross Station.

Edinburgh and Forres-based LDN Architects LLP has undertaken a range of heritage projects, particularly in Scotland, including Sir Walter Scott's Abbotsford House, Strathpeffer Spa Pavilion and the A-listed Fort Augustus Abbey on Loch Ness.

Among the projects in Glasgow-based Page\Park's historic buildings portfolio are the redevelopment of Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Art, the recent refurbishment of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the conversion of Mackintosh's Herald Building into The Lighthouse.

The practice has recently completed the new foyer extension to Glasgow's Theatre Royal.

UK and Hong Kong-based Purcell's historic building projects have ranged from the redevelopment of Hong Kong's 1841 Central Police Station to work at Kew Palace, Knowle House, The School of Arts in Chatham and the National Mining Museum in Scotland.

Liz Davidson, the Mackintosh Restoration Project Director at the GSA, said: "All of the shortlisted practices have a strong record in undertaking major restoration and work in historic buildings together with an impressive commitment to the use of new technology and the finest craftsmanship.

"They each bring the level of experience and expertise that is vital to the restoration of Mackintosh's masterpiece.

"We are now looking forward to hearing more about their proposed approaches."

The five practices will now present more detailed proposals.

They will, the school said, explain "their approach to the restoration of the A Listed Mackintosh Building as a fully functioning architecture, art and design school."

The presentations will take place in mid March with the appointment made later in the month.

The Mackintosh Library and other parts of the west end of the building were destroyed or severely damaged in the fire in May last year.

There has already been a debate over whether the Mackintosh Library, which was almost completely destroyed by the fire, should be rebuilt.

The official Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) investigation Report into the blaze was released by the GSA last year, and confirmed the blaze was started when heat from a projector ignited flammable gases from a tin of expanding foam being applied to a work of art in the Fine Art Graduation show.

The report found that the fire's rapid progress through the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed-building was aided by timber-lined walls and voids, and ventilation ducts running both vertically and horizontally throughout the building.

It said "a fire suppression system, designed to enhance existing fire protection measures, was being installed and was in the latter stages of completion; at the time of the fire the system it was not fully commissioned and was not operational."