A shortlist of five companies has been drawn up for the £35 million restoration of the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA).

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd, BAM Construction Ltd, John Graham Construction Ltd, Kier Construction and Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd are battling it out to restore the Category A Listed building which was destroyed by fire in May 2014.

A winner is expected to be appointed in June with work starting on site shortly after.

Architects Page/Park have already been announced as the design team who will lead the restoration.

Meanwhile new images have been created by experts in 3d visualisation at the GSA’s Digital Design Studio, created by laser scanning of the building.

They will form the basis of a BIM (Building Information Model) which will document every stage of the restoration and create a detailed record of the work undertaken for future use both by the GSA and other organisations carrying out complex restorations of historic buildings.

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

The GSA is aiming to complete the restoration of both the Mackintosh Building and the McLennan Galleries in time for the 2017/18 academic year.

The school said the removal of the stonework comprising the library window gable will be among the first jobs to be undertaken, followed by reconstruction of roofs which were totally destroyed in the fire.

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 contractor will also be required to commit to an extensive programme of recruiting and training apprentices to support Glasgow’s economy, as well as deliver education and outreach programmes in the area.