Historic Glasgow nightclub deemed ‘unrepairable’ after blaze

Glasgow’s iconic O2 ABC is “economically unsalvageable and unrepairable”, construction experts have ruled.

The O2 ABC nightclub in Glasgow suffered catestrophic damage during the fire which gutted the Glasgow School of Art last June. Picture: SWNS

Assessments of the historic building have revealed the extent of the damage caused by the Glasgow School of Art fire in June last year.

The damning report, submitted with plans to demolish the building, states the ABC1 and ABC2 suffered “catastrophic fire, smoke and water damage”.

A report outlining the main issues with the structure has been filed by Prime Structural Solutions to Glasgow City Council. The document states the problems stem from the complete collapse of the roof, a threat of asbestos, water damage and destruction of all services inside the building.

During the catastrophic fire, the venue was doused with thousands of gallons of water.

But the elevated location of the Glasgow School of Art resulted in the ABC site being subjected to the run-off of all water. There is still a “large volume” of water present in the C-listed building, which has destroyed all fixtures and fittings and seeped deep into its structure and fabric. Experts say the impact of the water will have a “major bearing” on any future proposals for the building or site.

The wall separating the ABC2 and the Mackintosh building is described as acting “like a retaining dam” for much of the water that was pumped into the School of Art building.

Prime Structural Solutions say the major steelwork elements of the building have collapsed and are placing a “significant” weight on to the general structure that it was never designed to cope with.

Steel on the upper floors has also completely collapsed and fallen through the floor.

The building is now primarily relying on its steel framed structure to stop the floors from completely collapsing.

And the roof of the ABC2 is significantly damaged after being “hacked” into by the fire service to allow water to be hosed into the floor.

Part of the roof is also being used to support scaffolding to the rear facade of the Glasgow School of Art.

Surveyors have been unable to fully examine the extent of the damage to the floors due to the amount of debris and materials created by the inward collapse of the roof.

The drainage, heating, cooling, ventilation, electrical and alarms systems are all now useless. Plans to demolish the building are due to go before Glasgow City Council.