Fears art school rebuild may be based primarily on cheapest cost

THE rebuild of the fire-ravaged Glasgow School of Art could be determined by the cheapest price over quality due to a flawed tender system, a leading Scottish architect has warned.

Paul Stallan, co-founder of Glasgowbased Stallan Brand, believes the cultural importance of the rebuild of the worldrenowned Mackintosh building should prevail with the right team chosen over the cheapest price.

He said that a strict formula which prefers price over quality will not only rule out skilful architects bidding for the rebuild tender, including his own firm, but claims the architect team which presents the cheapest price to undertake the work at the art school can have a poor-to-average quality score and win the contract.

And the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) has spoken out saying it supports a procurement process that balances cost with achieving the best possible design outcomes.

Mr Stallan admits they have ruled out applying for the GSA’s rebuild tender and believes the tender assessment criteria being applied should be reviewed.

He says there is an issue around the application of a relative quality price assessment methodology, sometimes known as the 60:40 quality against cost method, which GSA is applying in its selection process.

Mr Stallan, best known for designing the 2014 Commonwealth Games Village and his work on the Falkirk Wheel and Scottish Parliament, added: “There is so much emotion for the building and you just want it to be right. For something as important as the rebuild of the Glasgow School of Art, with the procurement process, you would think you would want to drill down that little bit more to look at what the formula is offering.

“There is no room for mediation or negotiation with these types of tenders it is almost a case of what the computer says. You put all the scores in and out pops an answer and we have so many clients that come back to us and say they didn’t actually understand that. If there is the highest quality with reasonable costs, why wouldn’t it come first?”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it is always open to discussing how to restore and refurbish Scotland’s buildings.