PIECE by piece, the impressive Reid Building at Glasgow School of Art has been taking shape ahead of its opening next year.
The painstaking £50 million development, with its striking design, has been documented in a series of images showing key parts being lifted into place.
The main photo illustrates how the new building cantilevers over the original facade of the Vic, the school's student union, and stands opposite the world-famous Mackintosh main building.
Among the Reid Building's unique features are three massive circular shafts called the Driven Voids of Light, created to deliver natural light and ventilation and eliminate the need for air conditioning.
The Reid Building is due to be officially opened in April next year and, as work nears completion, tradesman can be seen putting the finishing touches to studios, lecture theatres and workshops.
Designed by the leading US architect Steven Holl in partnership with Glasgow-based JM Architects, the Reid Building is one of the most significant buildings under construction in the UK.
Professor Tom Inns, director of the Glasgow School of Art, said: "Steven Holl Architects and JM Architects have designed an inspiring new space for the GSA students and staff. We are excited about moving in to the building in the new year and enjoying the many creative opportunities that the design offers us."
The Reid replaces the Foulis Building and Newbery Tower, which were no longer fit for purpose, and is phase one of the campus developments at Glasgow School of Art. It will house offices and design studios, workshops, media labs, lecture facilities, exhibition spaces and student areas.
The building is made of concrete and has five storeys above ground and two basement levels.
It was named after Professor Seona Reid, former director of the art school, and stands on Renfrew Street in Garnethill.
The man behind the images, Herald photographer Colin Mearns, started documenting the construction work shortly after work began in September 2011. "Only two years ago I was taking pictures of what was just a massive hole in the ground in front of Mackintosh's original building and it was amazing to see the building go up in such a short time," he said.
"Among the highlights was photographing the various stages of construction of the three Driven Voids and accompanying Steven Holl as he toured the almost-completed building this year."
The photographer added: "I'm sure the Reid Building will become a much loved feature on the Glasgow skyline and be an exciting addition to the city's world-famous reputation for stunning architecture."
Mr Holl's previous designs include the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki and the 2007 Bloch Building at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and other buildings devoted to the arts in the US, Korea, China and Beirut. He is also designing a new Maggie's Centre at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.
When he visited the Glasgow project in May he underlined just how significant the development is to him.
"My Glasgow building is my most important project because of its proximity to the Mackintosh building. It is a homage to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose inventive manipulation of space to deploy light inspired me to invent the Driven Voids of Light.
"I have never used them before, and I will never use them again, because they come from Mackintosh, who created the most important building in the UK."
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 hereComments are closed on this article