Five companies have been shortlisted to potentially restore the historic Mackintosh Building in Glasgow.

The Grade-A listed building was badly damaged by a fire on 23 May 2014.

The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) has now issued a tender for the main contractor to take forward the project, with work expected to begin after the close of this year's degree show in June.

Balfour Beatty, BAM, John Graham Construction, Kier and Sir Robert McAlpine have all been shortlisted as potential candidates following the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.

Post-fire 3D visualisations of the building have now been released by GSA, which will form the basis of a Building Information Model (BIM) to document every stage of the restoration.

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It will also created a detailed record of the work undertaken for future use both by the GSA and other organisations carrying out complex restorations of historic buildings.

Liz Davidson, Senior Project Manager, Mackintosh Restoration, said: "Clearly we need a contractor who is able to deliver the full range of technical requirements for the retrofit and has a proven track record in bringing major restoration projects in on time and on budget.

"However, over and above this we are looking for the inclusion of experienced specialists who are capable of undertaking the expert restoration of this Category A Listed building. We are looking for our Main Contractor to have the appropriate expertise in their team to deliver to the highest standard in terms of the specialist skills."

The removal of the stonework comprising the library window gable will be among the first jobs to be undertaken, followed by the reconstruction of roofs

Final preparation work – the strip out of the fire damaged west wing – is currently underway and will be completed by the end of May.

(LM/CD)