Iconic Glasgow £15m Rotunda Restoration Takes Shape

AS A £15M restoration project gets underway on one of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings, scaffolding has been erected in preparation for its reopening as a multi-function entertainment hub.

After six years of being left empty and deteriorating, the listed North Rotunda building was bought by the Forrest Group, owners of the Radisson Red Hotel situated next door to the unique circular building.

Submitting a planning application in March 2024, the hotel envisions the new Rotunda as a ground floor live entertainment space, while the two upper floors will feature a weddings and events venue. Outside, there will be a bar extension, beer garden and exterior staircase housed in a towerlike structure.

Image courtesy of ICA Studio

Rotunda Restoration Takes Shape

The design by Ica Architects echoes the Rotunda’s twin on the southern side of the River Clyde. Each 16-bay, brick built rotunda was originally built in 1888 as entrance points for pedestrians and vehicles to a tunnel under the river, now infilled.

The Rotunda restoration will see the original cast iron framed cupola, that tops the 8-metre-high Scottish Ballachulish slate roof, rebuilt, whilst also renewing the full 360^o ring of ribbon rooflights and cupola lantern that flood the upper floors with light.

Keith Vallence of Forrest Group said: “The North Rotunda is a beautiful old building with some lovely features, either covered up completely or worse, rotting away. We want to restore it and we have worked hard to come up with a design which enhances and showcases those features.”

Image courtesy of ICA Studio

Roofing Work

John Fulton Plumbing & Roofing will be carrying out the roofing work to restore the historic characteristics of the roof.

The cupola’s cast iron framework will be cleaned repaired and painted, as the new design means it will be exposed internally.

The roofers will strip off existing slate and remove all redundant service and ventilation elements. They will also remove the existing glazed rooflight, framing and leadwork and glazed cupola lantern, windvane and framing.

A new opening for the replacement ribbon rooflights will be formed. The existing sarking will be assessed and retained with repairs if required before installing a new roof membrane and thermal insulation.

A new heavy slate will restore the aesthetic of the roof, while the new ribbon rooflights, framing, substrate and leadwork flashings will complete it.

New service terminations will be positioned out of sight at the low edge of the roof behind a parapet and a low profile ladder and anchor points will be fixed over the rooflight for maintenance access.

John Fulton Plumbing & Roofing will also be replacing all leadwork, including gutter lead linings, which will be dressed up and over the stone coping, as well as flashings. The projecting stone ledge at the stone corbel level will also receive leadwork flashing. A roof saddle scaffold will allow access to the glass cupola on the top of the roof, enabling the removal and re-instatement of all its lead. This is alongside a bespoke crash deck scaffold underneath the inside of the glass cupola for fall protection for the roofers working on the exterior of the cupola.

By BrainiacBlink – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145880613

Bespoke Scaffolding

John Jack, Contracts Director at JR Scaffold said: “There is no doubt that North Rotunda is one of Glasgow’s most iconic buildings, therefore we wanted this scaffold to be aesthetically pleasing while meeting our high safety standards – it’s sure to catch the eye of passersby on their way to the Scottish Event Campus (SEC).

“We’re really pleased with the bespoke scaffolding we have created to meet the needs of the team at John Fulton Plumbing & Roofing as they undertake work to restore this circular building. They are long-standing partners of ours and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to work alongside them on this unique piece of architecture in Glasgow.”

JR Scaffold has also erected a tent-like structure scaffold beside the building for when the new cupola is delivered to site. This tent will provide a weatherproof area for it to be painted before it is positioned into place on the top of the roof via crane.

It is expected that the bulk of the scaffolding will remain in place for six months with the project completing in 2026.

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