The project was jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Scottish government and private donations and provides sixteen new galleries in all. These take visitors on a journey through the wonders of nature, the cultures of the world and through to science and discovery.
The original glass roof of the Grand Gallery was designed in the Victorian era by Captain Francis Fowke, architect of London’s Royal Albert Hall. Whilst structurally sound, the roof had deteriorated, resulting in reduced light levels and some water ingress during periods of bad weather.
New technology – traditional aesthetics
Maintaining the integrity of the original design was paramount in the design of the new roof, which needed to be carefully integrated with the ornate ‘birdcage’ ironwork of the supporting structure.
To match the profile of the original glazing bars a new die was designed specifically for the project. The new replacement aluminium glazing bars maintain the aesthetic appearance of the original rooflight, whilst providing state-of-the-art thermal performance. The rooflight is double glazed throughout, with 5mm heat soaked toughened outer and 8.8mm laminated inner with PVB layer.
The new glazing has a total area of over 460 sq m including the main roof pitches, plus a vertical glazed section to each side. This provides a stunning feature and delivers high levels of natural daylight to the Gallery which houses exhibits ranging from a life-sized skeleton cast of a Tyrannosaurus Rex to specimens collected by Charles Darwin and 3,000-year-old mummies.
The new roof has retained the look of the original – a hugely important factor in this refurbishment of part of Scotland’s heritage. It’salso important to note that the project was carried out with no delays, allowing the demanding schedule of interior works to progress without delays.
In addition to the Grand Gallery roof, Lareine Engineering also supplied six Monovision flat glass rooflights with solar controltoughened outer glazing, for other parts of the gallery.
Architect: Gareth Hoskins Architects
Main Contractor: Balfour Beatty Construction
Client: National Museums Scotland