PLANS have been lodged for the restoration of the historic Mackintosh Building which was ravaged by fire two years ago.

Glasgow School of Art has applied for permission to carry out internal and external work to the West Wing of the world famous building which housed the impressive library which suffered severe damage.

Glasgow Times:

Earlier this year the hunt for a main contractor went out to tender and the bids are presently being assessed by a team of experts.

Companies will be interviewed next month and an announcement about which firm has been successful is expected on June 23.

It is hoped work on the badly damaged West Wing and restoring the undamaged East Wing will begin at the start of July.

The total cost of the project will be around £50million and will take up to three years to complete. To date, around £17m has been raised towards the cost of as the result of a fundraising campaign.

Glasgow Times:

Since the fire in May 2016, the building has been painstakingly stripped out to preserve as many of the original artefacts as possible.

A report to councillors from city architects Page/Park says: “The progressive stripping out of non-original materials and later additions has, as well as the fire itself, uncovered many aspects of Mackintosh’s original design and specification.

Glasgow Times:

“While the perception of the building is often as being unchanged since construction, there have been significant alterations within the building over its history.

“A number of these alterations and additions have now effectively been reversed as a result of the fire and the subsequent stripping out and removal of non-original materials and elements.”

The restored Mackintosh building will return to its original layout as a home for all first year students in design, architecture and art.

READ MORE: Firefighters attend blaze at Glasgow School of Art 

A spokeswoman for the centre of learning said until now, the building has been hidden behind scaffolding but with the start of work in July, the public will begin to feel the restoration has begun.

The architect’s report describes the Mackintosh Building as exceptionally well loved and of local, regional and international significance.

Glasgow Times:

It is considered as one of the icons of 20th century architecture, is Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s largest commission, is his only building still in use for its original function and has the largest collection in the world of the designer’s furniture and fittings.

Elizabeth Davidson, senior project manager for the Mackintosh restoration said: “This is another important step in the restoration programme. We hope to have the permissions in place by the beginning of July so our main contractor can start on site as soon as possible after the appointment.”