Date: 08 September 08
Author: Caroline Ednie, Web Editor
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The first phase of the re-development of The Briggait, a former Victorian fish market in the heart of Glasgow‘s Merchant City, has just begun. The Wasps Trust, in partnership with Wasps Artists’ Studios, is to turn The Briggait into a £6.3m new venue with 69 studios for visual artists, office space for cultural organisations and creative industries, two display/exhibition spaces, a café and new public space within a historic 1873 courtyard.
The Grade-A former Victorian fishmarket, constructed between 1873 and 1914, sits in Glasgow's medieval heart, beside the city's first river crossing (which gave both the building and the street it sits on their names, "Briggait" being short for "Bridgegate"). Described as the "best surviving collection of market halls" in the UK, Historic Scotland also calls it a "Glasgow Icon". The building surrounds the 17th Century Merchants' Steeple, a fixture on the Glasgow skyline.
The building has had a chequered recent past. In the 1970s it was scheduled for demolition but plans were halted on the back of a vociferous public campaign. A trust was formed which ultimately led to the development of the building for shopping and leisure in the mid 1980s. However, the centre failed to find its place in the city's retail and the shopping centre closed before the turn of the decade.
Since then the building has been used for a number of temporary uses, but is now to be leased from Glasgow City Council on an 80-year period set at £1 a year, with the aim of placing The Briggait at the heart of plans to make the Merchant City and surrounding area a cultural quarter for the city.
The re-development design by Broughty Ferry based Nicoll Russell Studios aims to ensure that the unique ambience and design of the building is retained following the re-development. The NRS design strategy for The Briggait is described in detail below:
The Design Strategy
The central aim of the project is the provision of high quality studio and workshop facilities for visual artists. It was recognised, however, that this objective needed to be balanced against the requirement to respect the historical and architectural integrity of the complex of buildings that make up The Briggait.
It was therefore concluded that it would be inappropriate to propose radical changes to the Grade A Listed 1873 hall due to its obvious architectural value. Indeed, it is unlikely that such a proposal would prove acceptable to either the planning authority or Historic Scotland. Consequently, it is proposed that the 1873 hall should remain as it was always intended to be - a large, single volume - and that alterations in this area should be largely limited to the reconfiguring of the fabric installed during the 1980's conversion. It is further suggested that the more public functions should be focused on the ground floor of the 1873 hall. In this way, the largest number of people will enjoy the most architecturally significant part of the building, and a new life will be given to one of Glasgow's 'lost' architectural gems.
Conversely, the remaining parts of the building appear to offer greater scope for the kind of alteration necessary to create the accommodation required by the brief. As a consequence, it is proposed that the majority of new studio and workshop spaces should be located within the 1889 and 1903 halls and also the 1914 Bridgegate block.
Building Organisation
The proposed development of the Briggait can be split into four distinct elements:
- The 1873 Hall
- The Merchants Steeple Atrium
- The Bridgegate Studio Block
- The Guildry Court Atrium and the Studio Insertions
The 1873 Hall
The Main Entrance:
Currently, the main centres of pedestrian activity, such as the busy Argyle Street and Glasgow Cross areas, lie to the north building. Consequently, the main entrance to the Briggait will continue to be on the northerly facing Bridgegate facade for the forseeable future. However, the existing dual entrances to the 1873 hall on this frontage have been highlighted as potentially confusing and inappropriate to the new more public role the Briggait will play.
It is proposed, therefore, to create a clear entrance sequence by removing the central shop unit and creating a new entrance making use of the three central arches. The arches will open onto a gently ramping porch area leading to a set of automatic sliding doors. In this way, visitors to the building enter along the central axis of great space of the 1873 hall. On either side, the existing entrances will be glazed to create areas to display artwork or banners advertising the activities taking place within the new facility.
Exhibition/Event Space:
A flexible exhibition and event area will be created in the central space of the 1873 hall. It will host exhibitions of sculpture, paintings and multi-media installations, building on the success of previous events held in the space. It is envisaged that conferences and seminars wiil be held in the space as well as markets relating to the artistic activities within the building.
The technical facilities will be discreetly enhanced with the introduction of power and data connections recessed into the floor and the installation of a system of exhibition lighting.
The existing stairs, installed during the 1980's, will be removed to ensure the privacy of the artists who will continue to occupy the studios on the balcony.
Café:
During the 1980's conversion work, a cafe was created at the south end of the 1873 hall overlooking the river. This will be reinstated in order to further encourage the public to visit the building and potentially open a further way into the Briggait. A serviced shell will be created to be leased to an operator.
Wasps Admin Area:
The administrative heart of the Wasps organisation is a suite of offices and meeting rooms located at the interface between the public zone of the 1873 hall and the 'private' studio and workshop areas occupied by the artists. Formed by removing the partitions between former double height shop-units, its positioning will enable administrative personnel to supervise the main entrance, the event space and the artists' entrance. It is envisaged that the entrance for the artists will be secured by a door entry system.
The Merchant Steeple Atrium
The 17th Century Merchant Steeple has become engulfed within the overall development of the site as a fish market. As a consequence it has lost much of its earlier significance in the city's streetscape. A key element of the architectural response to the Briggait complex, therefore, is the aim of revealing the Merchant Steeple, and in so doing will re-establish its role as a major landmark in the urban landscape of Glasgow. It is proposed to create a new atrium space adjacent to the steeple by introducing a large double-glazed rooflight and cutting away part of the existing mezzanine floor, bringing light into the centre of the plan.
The space formed by this intervention will become the main circulation hub for the building, and will be the primary route for all the artists to reach their individual studio spaces or the workshops. An open stair will animate the atrium and a large lift will allow access to the upper floor studios for disabled people as well as allowing for the movement of more bulky items between floors. Balconies and glazed screens will allow glimpses down into the atrium, whilst at the base of the steeple, a social space will help to foster a sense of shared community within the building. This space will be linked to the existing toilet facilities, which will be refurbished and extended to create showers for the artists.
The 1914 Bridgegate Block
The 1914 extension was re-developed during the 1980's with the creation of a series of double-height retail and leisure units along the Bridgegate frontage along with the construction of a new first floor level and the partial construction of two access stairs. The units are currently vacant and the upper floor is a semi-derelict space.
It is proposed that the existing empty shop units facing onto Bridgegate will be brought back into use as Creative Industries Units. These will consists of a series of `developers shells`, with service tails, to be fully fitted out by future tenants.
The existing double-height shop units will be sub-divided vertically by the introduction of a new full mezzanine floor, allowing the creation of a complete level of studio spaces gaining natural light from Bridgegate itself. The studios will be physically linked to the rest of the complex via a new corridor connected to the main circulation core adjacent to the Merchants Steeple Atrium and visually linked through a fire resistant glass screen on the new corridor, looking down into the atrium space.
On the First Floor level above, the existing empty space will be sub-divided into new studio spaces with natural light from the existing windows onto Bridgegate and the existing rooflights. The spaces will be lined and insulated to current Building Standards.
A new fire escape stair will be created within one of the existing small shop units to serve both the Mezzanine and First Floor Levels.
The Guildry Court Atrium and the Studio Insertions
Within the existing volumes of the 1889 and 1903 halls and linked to the new Merchants Steeple Atrium and the main circulation core, it is proposed to introduce a series of lightweight `insertions` that will act as individual studio spaces for the artists. These new insulated and serviced interventions will be arranged to take full advantage of the daylight from the extensive glazing already existing in the roofs of the halls and will be detailed to 'read' as modern insertions into the historic fabric of the Briggait.
Below the glazed ridge of the 1903 hall, a completely new atrium space will be created with banks of studios on either side. These will have inclined glazed walls in order to maximise the daylight available to the artists working within the spaces. It is envisaged that the floor of the atrium will become a flexible workspace with work activities spilling out from the ground floor studios on either side. The historical research required in the preparation of the Conservation Plan has revealed that the 1903 hall was constructed on the site of a lane known as Guildry Court. The proposed atrium space will, to some extent, reinstate the line of the original lane and so it has been suggested that the space might be named the Guildry Court Atrium.
This first phase of redevelopment has just begun and is due to be completed by the end of 2009. A second phase is in development and will be announced later this year.
Funders for the Briggait redevelopment include Glasgow City Council (£2.2m), Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund (£1.7m), Scottish Enterprise Glasgow (£800,000), Heritage Lottery Fund (£750,000), Historic Scotland (£500,000), the Hugh Fraser Foundation (£15,000) and the Mickel Fund (£5000) and loan finance from ethical lenders, Triodos Bank.
Project: The Briggait
Architect: Nicoll Russell Studios
Client: WASPS
Location: Glasgow
Main contractors: Morris and Spottiswood
Engineering Consultant: Buro Happold
Cost: £6.3 million
Photography: Andrew Lee
Bottom Image: Nicoll Russell Studios
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