Steven Holl's answer to The Mac

Steven Holl's new building for the Glasgow School of Art has recently been completed. Adjacent to The Mac, Holl takes influence from the way Charles Mackintosh designed studios to be filled with light, and visible to the surrounding city.

The new Glasgow School of Art building's special site, on top of one of Glasgow's Drumlins and opposite one of the United Kingdom's greatest works of art and architecture, offers unique potential to transform the GSA's presence in the city to a 21st century vibrant, cutting-edge art school that simultaneously values continuity with history.

Mackintosh's amazing manipulation of the building section for light in inventive ways has inspired our approach towards a plan of volumes in different light. We see the studio/workshop as the basic building block of the building. Spaces have been located not only to reflect their interdependent relationships but also their varying needs for natural light. Studios are positioned on the north façade with large inclined north facing glazing to maximize access to the desirable high quality diffuse north light. Spaces that do not have a requirement for the same quality of natural light, such as the refectory and offices, are located on the South façade where access to sunlight can be balanced with the occupants needs and the thermal performance of the space through application of shading.

"Driven voids of light" allow for the integration of structure, spatial modulation and light. The "Driven Void" light shafts deliver natural light through the depth of the building providing direct connectivity with the outside world through the changing intensity and color of the sky.

Reference: http://www.stevenholl.com/project-detail.php?type=educational&id=111&page=0