Glasgow art school revamp design unveiled

The new building has been designed by Steven Holl architects

The design for the new £50m Glasgow School of Art building has been revealed.

The building is designed by American architect Steven Holl, who was appointed last September after an international competition.

The development is the first in a two-phase project to create an "urban campus" to replace several existing older buildings.

It will not replace Charles Rennie Mackintosh's main building.

The internationally-renowned architect Mackintosh was just 29 when he won a competition to build Glasgow School of Art.

The School of Art building, completed in 1909, is widely regarded as his finest work.

The new building will replace the Foulis Building and Newbery Tower on Renfrew Street, opposite the Mackintosh building.

Mr Holl said: "The site opposite the Mackintosh Building calls for a unique, inspiring and stimulating 21st Century architecture with a great sensitivity to light, detail and material.

"The new Glasgow School of Art Building will provide contemplative space for individual creativity and thought, and spaces of collective interaction for students, staff and the Garnethill community."

Professor Seona Reid, director of the Glasgow School of Art, said: "Our collaboration with Steven Holl Architects and theirs with JM Architects has produced a design that I am confident will deliver a world-class building for the school and for Glasgow.

"The inventive use of light, material and section make it a worthy companion to Mackintosh, a striking building of which we will all be immensely proud."

The Phase 1 building is set to open in readiness for the 2013/2014 academic year.