7th June 2019 By Clark Contracts Ltd
The refurbishment of Mackintosh at the Willow, delivered by Clark Contracts, has won an RIAS Award.
The project was one of a 19 strong shortlist of Scottish projects up for a 2019 Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Awards and was announced the winner at the ceremony, which took place at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh on Thursday 30th May.
The client for the project, Celia Sinclair of the Willow Tea Rooms Trust, was also crowned the winner of the RIAS Client of the Year award.
The project was recently named as ‘Project of the Year’ at the 2019 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) awards and has been shortlisted for a SPACES award.
The original Mackintosh Tea Rooms were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903 and required restoration to ensure the building continued to be celebrated and enjoyed by future generations. Architects, Simpson and Brown, Project Managers and Quantity Surveyors, Doig and Smith, M&E Engineer Rybka and Structural Engineer, David Narro Associates were also part of the team involved in the prestigious project.
Gerry Cummins, Director, Clark Contracts said, “This is the second high profile Scottish award the project has won and we are looking forward to finding out if we can add a SPACES award to the list in October”.
The restored tea rooms now feature a new exhibition and visitor centre, learning and education suite, retail store and conference facilities.
The new tea rooms are located across three levels with a variety of Mackintosh designed spaces including the front and back saloons on the ground floor, the gallery, the Billiard Room and the famous Salon de Luxe.
The new visitors centre was created in the traditional tenement building immediately adjacent to the Tea Rooms at 215 Sauchiehall Street and celebrates the successes of Miss Cranston as a female entrepreneur and her business success.
The interactive exhibition area tells the story of Glasgow in the early 1900s at a time of social change, the growth of the tea houses and the collaboration between Miss Kate Cranston and architect designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
As part of the restoration works, Clark Contracts’ Manufactured Joinery Division produced over 20 bespoke items, including bench seating, a bar/servery, baldacchino, ceiling grid, screens, wall linings and a fireplace. Drawings weren’t available for many of the items meaning they had to be recreated using black and white photographs.
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