Back in 2009, over 150 firms across the world entered the Glasgow School of Art competition which was seeking an architect-led team to create a building opposite Mackintosh’s masterpiece. Steven Holl, in collaboration with Glasgow-based JM Architects, proposed a submission that capitalized on the changing quality of light throughout the spaces. Holl’s vision responds to Mackintosh’s sectional emphasis by implementing large voids of light – the “circuit of connection ” – that slice through the spaces to “encourage the creative contact central to the workings of the school.”
When we visited Holl’s office, we talked Senior Partner Chris McVoy about the importance of the section for this particular project (we also chatted about their latest Shan-Shui master plan). One hundred years have passed since Mackintosh’s building opened for the School of Art, yet, as McVoy explains, although the structures represent completely different times, their attention to architectural elements, such as light, materiality and proportion, will create a relationship between the two.
Enjoy the video! Credits after the break.
Project Credits:
Architect: Steven Holl Architects, Steven Holl, Chris McVoy (design architect), Chris McVoy (partner in charge), Noah Yaffe (associate), JongSeo Lee, Fiorenza Matteoni, Dominik Sigg, Dimitra Tsachrelia, Ebbie Wisecarver (project team), Dominik Sigg (competition project architect), Peter Adams, Rychiee Espinosa (competition team) Associate Architects: JM Architects Engineer: Arup Landscape Architect: Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates Planning: Turley Associates
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