Glasgow-based Page\Park Architects have been appointed from a shortlist of five companies who bid for the role.

They will now start work on a detailed plan for restoration. Work is expected to begin in spring 2016 with hopes for academic access from 2017/2018.

The art school is continuing efforts to raise £20m to pay for the restoration of the Mackintosh and its contents. [...]

They were lead designers for the Mackintosh Conservation and Access Project from 2007-2009. — bbc.com

The Fire, Buildings and City Planning Departments are writing rules to govern what are called occupant-evacuation elevators — cars that can, in special circumstances, be used to move people down in an emergency. [...]

Experts who have spent years studying building evacuations believe that approach has become outmoded and is in itself potentially dangerous as extremely tall skyscrapers increasingly pierce the New York skyline. — nytimes.com

After almost a year of impassioned debate, the Glasgow School of Art’s Director has announced that its Library will be restored to its original state. [...]

In response to Professor Inns' statement, Professor of Architecture Alan Dunlop asserts below that Mackintosh himself sought new forms in architecture and that there are architects capable of designing a new Library to live within his original masterpiece. — bbc.co.uk

Residents affected by the fire that broke out in The Torch tower in Dubai Marina at the weekend have been moved to a nearby hotel while the extent of the damage is assessed. [...]

More than 1,000 people fled after a fire broke out at around 2am on Saturday in one of the tallest residential buildings in the world. [...]

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined. — thenational.ae

Now millions of pounds are being raised towards returning the Mackintosh to its former glory, with the five shortlisted firms now being invited to detail their plans and make presentations in mid March. A winner will be selected later that month. [...]

The five firms are: Avanti Architects, John McAslan + Partners, LDN Architects LLP, Page \ Park Architects and Purcell. — dailyrecord.co.uk

The ATF national response team, at the end of its investigation, reaches one of three conclusions – incendiary, accidental, or undetermined. Given Thursday’s conclusion that the fire was determined to be "incendiary," or deliberately set, local authorities will probably launch an arson investigation to identify those responsible for the blaze. — latimes.com

“When they came out of the quarters they could see it was fully engulfed,” fire department spokeswoman Katherine Main told the paper. “It was a building under construction in the framing phase. Almost 1 million square feet and a city block.” — RT

Architectural experts are to meet in Venice to discuss the restoration of Glasgow School of Art's (GSA) Mackintosh library, which was destroyed in a fire in May.

The art school will host two meetings to explore key questions around the rebuilding of the unique library, one in the Italian city in October and the second in Glasgow next spring. — telegraph.co.uk

Archaeologists are working with other firefighters to protect several historical guard stations using, what's essentially a protective foil wrap.

Crews rushed this weekend to cover five historical cabins at the Placer Guard Station. "We ordered this wrap," said archaeologist Ward Stanley. "It looks like tin foil.

"It's pretty simple, you just wrap the house in a shingle-type fashion so it's overlapping going down so the stuff that goes down doesn't get into the cracks," Stanley said. — abc30.com

"The people of Glasgow and many people far beyond were horrified when a few weeks ago fire ripped through the Art School, gutting its priceless library.

The UK government has already made a £5m contribution to the Mackintosh Appeal to help ensure that the building is restored to its former glory.

And we are today making an additional £5m contribution to support the School's new Graduate and Research Centre." — UK Chancellor George Osborne — bbc.com

A $700,000 home was teetering over the edge of Texas' Lake Whitney — until officials set it on fire.

The home, which had been gradually crumbling into the lake for weeks, was set on fire shortly after 10 a.m. local time after authorities deemed it the safest and cheapest option. Officials had considered pulling the home closer to land using a giant net — deemed unsafe — or letting it fall into the lake on its own — too expensive to clean up. — mashable.com

The GSA said that retrieving the archives and collections from inside the building was its “first priority”. [...]

Firefighters were able to save around 70 per cent of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building’s contents during the blaze.

But the famed Mackintosh library, which contained hundreds of rare periodicals and collections, was destroyed, along with countless works of art and the roof of the west wing. — express.co.uk

A German architect accused of improperly installing a fireplace in his Hollywood Hills mansion, leading to a firefighter’s death in February 2011, is expected to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter Friday. — LA Times

Authorities in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, have fought a major blaze at a landmark building designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer.

A large plume of smoke billowed from the Latin America Memorial, a cultural centre which hosts an art gallery, an auditorium and other facilities. — bbc.co.uk