RICS Scotland Awards 2024 – Heritage Project Winner
RIAS Scotland Awards 2025 – Winner
RIBA National Awards 2025 – Winner
Adaptations in the early 17th century saw the addition of a fine stair turret. Apart from these adaptations, the building stands out as a rare survival from the Scottish Renaissance, remaining remarkably unaltered. Moreover, the building gradually fell into disuse, and since the late nineteenth century, it has been roofless and floorless. MacGibbon and Ross illustrated the Tower in this state in their seminal survey of 1876–92. Furthermore, the actual staircase within the turret no longer existed.
The Landmark Trust originally appointed Narro in 2016 to survey the building and advise on the viability of a full refurbishment. We concluded that the condition of the building was not as dangerous as its immediate appearance would suggest. We advised that a refurbishment was entirely possible.
Initially, our first aim was to oversee immediate works to stabilise the building and enhance its robustness until a refurbishment could be carried out. Addressing the risk of progressive collapse at key locations, this entirely reversible work dealt with the potential loss of small quantities of material from the masonry.
The main challenge to the project from a structural point of view was the stabilisation of the stair turret. This turret was visibly coming away from the main building, with wide gaps appearing between its walls and that of the main tower. Furthermore, large cracks existed within the actual walls of the turret, indicating that the walls themselves were coming apart.
Our approach sought to use the replacement staircase within the turret as the structural spine to the structure, knitting itself into the parent fabric and locking it back to the main building. The construction of the staircase adopted reinforced concrete. This amorphous material could be cast to fit exactly within the distorted volume of the space. It was possible to construct the whole in a reasonably simple way. The eventual construction is a wonderful sculptural element, showcasing the skill and attention to detail of the contractor that built it.
