Project Office Pop-Up at 215 - Doors Open!

The Willow Tea Rooms Trust, working in partnership with the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society (CRM), is happy to announce the opening of the Project Pop-Up Information Centre located at 215 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Our volunteers are now able to offer visitors to the Tea Rooms an opportunity to hear about the project as well as giving information on other Mackintosh attractions to explore around the Greater Glasgow area.

Items of furniture on display has kindly been supplied by Bruce Hamilton, Furniture Maker.

The future of the Willow Tea Rooms starts here

A truly historic day at The Willow Tea Rooms today, we now have complete control of the building. It has been secured and we have removed the magnificent Room De Luxe doors, which are now safely in storage with Glasgow Museums until the end of the renovation project.

The next steps will be the initial works on the buildings’ ‘envelope’, on both 215 and 217 Sauchiehall Street, and will include making the buildings wind and watertight, essential works on the chimney in the back lane and re-positioning the Room De Luxe window to its original placement so that they can withstand the Scottish winter.

“This is something we’ve all been looking forward to since the summer of 2014. The amount of sheer hard work that has taken place to reach this point had been truly inspiring and I like to think that Charles and Miss Cranston would both be pleased with our efforts,” said Celia Sinclair, Chair of The Willow Tea Rooms Trust.  

The greatest challenge remains raising the funds required to make the vision a reality. A number of applications have been made, including to the Heritage Lottery Fund, to assist in raising the project costs and we hope to see the fruits of these labours realised soon. However, these will not cover the projected cost in their entirety and we are still looking for other avenues of funding every day.

And thanks to John McClory of Brick and Steel Construction who offered his firm’s services in kind to help secure the building. Such acts of generosity are very much appreciated by the Trust.

This is just the start of the future of The Willow Tea Rooms.

G S A Pop-Up Exhibition - 20-21 June 2016

Cultural and artistic appreciation is never far from The Willow Tea Rooms Trust and this was made obvious when the Trust’s office was transformed into a pop-up gallery to showcase some excellent artwork.  The work was a collaboration between 3rd Year Glasgow School of Art Interior Design students based in Glasgow and at their campus in Singapore.  The exhibition itself was designed by 2nd Year Interior Design students.

This International focus was made to compare the living conditions of a typical Glasgow dwelling to that in Singapore — a real insight into the cramped conditions and compromises the country makes in order to satisfy comfortable living.  Students initially invited guests along for the debut viewing before opening 215 to the public the following day.

It was an eye-opener of a project and once more went to show that the future of the Willow Tea Rooms is one which the Trust and building will remain strongly linked to artistic and cultural events to benefit the people and visitors of Glasgow. in as many ways as possible.

Glasgow Uni Vet Association - 15 June 2016

The Trust also met with another group of excited academics — only this time most didn’t come across the Atlantic Ocean to hear about it.  A large group of retired vets who studied at Glasgow University visited the Trust’s office for a special presentation on the project, led by the Chair of the Trust, Celia Sinclair.

It was an informative afternoon which sparked many questions from the vets which were important to answer in terms of providing reassurance of the funding in regards to the current political situation at the time.  Celia was quick to inform that indeed the decision made regarding Britain’s place in the EU would have no strong bearing on the security of the funds the Trust has received and is due to receive and that, regardless of politics, the project will go on to thrive in being a key pillar for the City of Glasgow celebrations in 2018.

After the presentation was over, many vets treated themselves to a lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms — their last before the building would be boarded up for phase one of the project to begin. 

Planning proposal drawings

The Willow Tea Rooms Trust has now submitted its plans for the restoration of the Tea Rooms and development of the adjacent Mackintosh exhibition and education centre for approval by Glasgow City Council. We'd like to share these with you to help visualise our ambition of creating a world class Mackintosh experience for all.

Please click on the links below on the left to view the pdfs of the drawings, they will each open in a new tab.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on these too, please leave comments below if you wish.

stephen.sharp2@gmail.com

RANN Delegates - 22 April 2016

A network conference focusing on Art Nouveau also had a chance to listen to a presentation about the Tea Rooms.  The Reseau Art Nouveau Network (RANN) in association with the  Glasgow School of Art, and with support from The Lighthouse and the University of Strathclyde, had delegates in Glasgow who were invited along to 215 Sauchiehall Street for a glass of wine and a presentation on The Willow Tea Rooms Trust Project.

International Significance

Delegates came from all across Europe with a variety of experienced architectural backgrounds and were all very excited by the project and were enthused by the presentation they received.

Keeping Contact

The presentation left many of the RANN delegates wanting updates on the project and, as a result, contact was aimed to be kept via social media where not only could the delegates access suitable updates on the progress of the project but they could also spread the word of it across their own personal networks, which, of course, could only be a positive attribution to the ongoing momentum the project is generating. 

Reception for Mackintosh Society - 15 March 2016

Carole Matthews, Chair of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, kindly hosted an evening inviting volunteers, staff and friends to a reception at the Trust’s office - 215 Sauchiehall Street. Carole even organised the food and refreshments.

The evening was set up to both thank the members of the Society for their service and to inform them of the intentions that lie in the regeneration of the Tea Rooms next door. The evening was a great success and highlighted the benefits of the close relationship the Trust will share with the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society upon completion of the new Tea Rooms.

News release: Simpson & Brown Appointed to Restore The Iconic Willow Tea Rooms and Create the New Mackintosh Centre in Glasgow

The restoration of Glasgow’s iconic Willow Tea Rooms and the creation of a world-class Charles Rennie Mackintosh visitor centre took a major step forward today with the appointment of lead design consultants, Edinburgh based Simpson & Brown Architects.

The announcement follows an international competition to find an architecture and design practice capable not only of restoring and renovating The Willow Tea Rooms, which were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for entrepreneur Kate Cranston in 1903, but also creating a state of the art visitor, educational and exhibition centre at 215 Sauchiehall Street, directly adjacent to the tea rooms.

"We know it is a very challenging project for any architectural firm but we were tremendously impressed by Simpson & Brown’s conservation expertise and by the ideas they put forward for the new Mackintosh centre. They will combine the old with the new, perfectly contrasting modern and impressive design with the original splendour of the only remaining Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed tea rooms," explained Celia Sinclair, Founder and Chair of The Willow Tea Rooms Trust, which was established to save and restore The Willow Tea Rooms for the City of Glasgow.

With the diversity of the project Simpson & Brown has assembled a team of architectural conservation and design specialists from companies including Studioarc, Rybka, David Narro Associates, Alliance CDM, Building Learning and People Friendly Design.

John Sanders, Partner and Heritage Specialist at Simpson & Brown will lead the project team and explained; “The complexity of the project required that we bring together a team of experts in their fields to ensure every detail is taken care of and we’ve selected people we respect and admire to work with us.

“The key to the success of the design lies with the Trust’s acquisition of 215 Sauchiehall Street, which will allow us not only to create a world class visitor centre but provide amenities, such as lifts and other facilities, which will be accessible from, but not interfere with, the tea rooms themselves or the experience they provide. Essentially we’re taking the tea rooms back to their celebrated past but also taking them forward in time to make it a unique architectural and design experience.” 

The cost of the project is estimated currently at £7 million, £1 million of which is required to repair and make The Willow Tea Rooms building fully wind and watertight, and for the restoration work on features either lost over the years or damaged as a result of the decline in the fabric of the building.

The Willow Tea Rooms Trust has received initial funding from The Architectural Heritage Fund. And it hopes to raise the rest of the required funding from public and private sector donors as well as from the large number of Charles Rennie Mackintosh admirers around the world. The Trust has already 

“We are creating something truly special and sustainable in Sauchiehall Street that will help to create jobs, support tourism, and celebrate and safeguard the legacy of Charles Rennie Mackintosh,” explained Celia Sinclair. “Work will be progressing as quickly as possible to enable us to have everything in place for 2018, which is the 150th anniversary of his birth.”

 Conceptual imagery of 215 Sauchiehall Street by Simpson & Brown

 

Conceptual imagery of 215 Sauchiehall Street by Simpson & Brown

 Conceptual image of 217 Sauchiehall Street, The Willow Tea Rooms restored.

 

Conceptual image of 217 Sauchiehall Street, The Willow Tea Rooms restored.