Reply With QuoteTotally gone.
Tragic.
How sad. Not sure it can be saved this time now. No injuries thank goodness.
I know its only bricks and mortar but it is so unique and beautiful.
Totally gone.
Tragic.
Omg. That totally sucks
Used to frequent it on many occasion when I was a student. Truly was a unique building even to my untrained eye.
There seems to have been a few major fires around that area recently...
Incredible that this could be allowed to happen again.
Barring sabotage - you would have to suspect the electrical installation work done or ongoing.
An absolute tragedy, for sure.
Such a beautiful and iconic building. I used to work nearby and we just took its historical significance for granted.
Not only the art school sadly.
Wouldn't be allowed to happen in Londonistan.
Same thing: their Lord Provost is an immigrant. Her fault!!!Originally Posted by Kingstepper
Although as she is white she should get away with it.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Potential some plumbing, roofing or electrical work recently?
Has anyone seen the dood lately ?
Terrible shame, an iconic building gone.
Last edited by Nuisance Value; 17th June 2018 at 10:04.
My daughter is studying fine art there and she (and her peers) are totally devastated. A loss for GSA and the City.
A little horological interest that I snapped a couple of years ago, thankfully currently housed in the school building opposite. A master/slave clock.
Last edited by alfat33; 17th June 2018 at 00:37.
So sad, was such a graceful building. Seeing the news footage you have to think whether its a better idea to come up with something truly innovative and new to replace the building , there really doesn’t seem much left to restore here.
They'll keep the facade and retain it, do a completely new internal fit out. Redo the windows in a similar style etc
Architects will be frothing at the bit to get the fit out job
It's just horrible. I felt a sense of loss after the fire in 2014, when the magnificent library was gutted, but this is somehow worse. It's always been one of those iconic buildings everyone knows. I love Victorian and Edwardian architecture, and this was one of the greatest Art Nouveau buildings anywhere in the world, and one now I'll never get to see as its architect intended. To think it may be completely gone is just too ghastly to bear.
If they had any guts they’d go for a Neues Museum style restoration - preserve the history and scars of the fires and re-use what the can and rebuild new parts sympathetically without resorting to pastiche
Otherwise it’s just a fair ground attraction for tourists
But - it has always been a working art school.
I think that even if internals are new (but replica of original) - then it will continue to be inspirational.
The Cutty Sark (arguably - only a tourist attraction) cost over £50m several years ago, to refurbish it, after fire.
But - maybe it’s geograpic location drove that?
Last edited by blackal; 20th June 2018 at 06:22.
We heard from someone on Monday that the press were hammering on the site cabin doors and the Main Contractor were ignoring them and had locked them!
It's always a risk that any refurb could be a half assed copy of the past, but I'm with Ummar on this, gut it, do something completely different, big glass roof or similar.. there's an opportunity here.
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Not sure what the significance of the main contractor avoiding the press - is.
(the main contractor being the ones at site level, that is)
There will be an investigation starting.
After much thought I think it should be fully restored, stone by stone, to the original design.
This building has already been designed once, by CRM, so it shouldn’t be designed again.
So clever my foot fell off.
I agree. Glass roofed, perfectly finished minimalism would be anathema to everything that CRM and the Arts and Crafts movement stood for. Whereas rebuilding to his original design, using as many local tradespeople and students to complete the work, would perhaps create something worthwhile out of this disaster.
‘There is hope in honest error; none in the icy perfections of the mere stylist.’
This building caught fire once already. The first time is an accident. The second time has to be negligence. Before starting a restoration after the first fire, the only intelligent thing to do is to assess existing risks and eliminate them before you even think of starting effective restoration.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Well, it goes against the whole "Considerate Construction Scheme" ethos and community engagement of major construction projects. They should have least made a statement that a statement would be made in due course.
Of course there'll be an investigation.
As to restoration, it may well be that the nostalgic majority want a timber lined interior as previous, however in light of modern fire regulations (the fire protection of exposed timber is very onerous) I can see this being omitted in favour of a more user friendly and VE alternative. For an art school, it was a dark interior not conducive to an art school and they could do a lot better with a fresher modern internal design that incorporates some key CRM design cues.
Last edited by Nuisance Value; 29th June 2018 at 19:19.
The Neues Museum by David Chipperfield is an amazing space and shows how you can preserve the character of the original building without entirely replicating the original. It’s a really emotional space, you can see the trauma and resurgence of the building which just adds to the story.
I don’t think cost should come into it, and whilst it was a working art school it was an art school for the early party of the part century. I think that there is an opportunity to take the feel of the old space and make a new building fit for the needs of today
Parts now have to be dismantled as a matter of urgency due to movement. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-44497880
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