National Galleries of Scotland: National

Now part of a wider complex of public galleries, the National Gallery was completed to the design of William Playfair during the 1850s. The building underwent an extension in the 1970s. In 2004, it joined the nearby Royal Scottish Academy, also designed by Playfair. The project aims to enhance accessibility to the Scottish Gallery, integrating it into the main gallery experience.

From a structural point of view, the project involves the extensive reworking and extension of the 1970s and 2000s reinforced concrete-framed buildings.  Remodelling of two main vertical circulation cores housing stairs and lifts was also done. The latter-day extensions to the National Gallery are subterranean. This complicates the design and execution of alterations and extensions on this congested city-centre site. Moreover, the site is highly visible in Edinburgh’s World Heritage area. The existence of three mainline rail tunnels passing immediately below the site further complicates the works.

Structural elements:

• The structural alterations are to be sympathetic to the historic fabric of the building
• The existing geometry of the building restricts the alterations but necessitates providing full circulation for public and back-of-house operations, such as artwork moves.
• To propose and adopt sensible alterations, one must fully understand the existing structure. Any new structures will provide thermal mass.
• We are fully waterproofing the building fabric according to British Standard guidance for underground gallery and storage spaces. Where necessary, we are implementing two different waterproofing regimes. The interface of the new structure with the existing one, along with the location of the works and limited space outside the immediate footprint of the building, complicates the provision of this protection.

The project includes significant landscaping works to improve accessibility to the building and to enhance the site as a whole. These works generally comprise normal civil-engineering operations. However, they adopt lightweight materials to mitigate the increase in overburden on existing buried structures. Consultation with a wide range of stakeholders was undertaken throughout the project – Historic Environment Scotland, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, Edinburgh World Heritage to name a few.