Mackintosh At The Willow Named 'Project Of The Year'

The regeneration of the original Willow Tea Rooms to create the new 'Mackintosh at the Willow' completed by Clark Contracts has won the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Project of the Year award.

Mackintosh at the Willow also won the Building Conservation award category of the 2019 RICS awards for which the ceremony took place on Thursday 2nd May 2019 at the Sheraton Grant Hotel and Spa in Edinburgh.

The project is also one of a 19 strong shortlist of Scottish projects up for a 2019 Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Awards and will find out if it has beat the competition on 30th of May at the awards ceremony which takes place at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh.

The original Mackintosh Tea Rooms were designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903 and required restoration to ensure the building continued to be celebrated and enjoyed by future generations. Architects, Simpson and Brown, Project Managers and Quantity Surveyors, Doig and Smith, M&E Engineer Rybka and Structural Engineer, David Narro Associates were also part of the team involved in the prestigious project.


The restored tea rooms now feature a new exhibition and visitor centre, learning and education suite, retail store and conference facilities.

The new tea rooms are located across three levels with a variety of Mackintosh designed spaces including the front and back saloons on the ground floor, the gallery, the Billiard Room and the famous Salon de Luxe.

The new visitors centre was created in the traditional tenement building immediately adjacent to the Tea Rooms at 215 Sauchiehall Street and celebrates the successes of Miss Cranston as a female entrepreneur and her business success.

The interactive exhibition area tells the story of Glasgow in the early 1900s at a time of social change, the growth of the tea houses and the collaboration between Miss Kate Cranston and architect designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Gerry Cummins, Director, Clark Contracts said: "We are thrilled that Mackintosh at the Willow has won the prestigious RICS Project of the Year and Building Conservation awards! It is fantastic for the project to receive this recognition, especially when up against such tough competition from across the country."

As part of the restoration works, Clark Contracts' Manufactured Joinery Division produced over 20 bespoke items, including bench seating, a bar/servery, baldacchino, ceiling grid, screens, wall linings and a fireplace. Drawings weren't available for many of the items meaning they had to be recreated using black and white photographs.