Posted On January 09, 2019
Pioneering Rescue of Hill House and the Renewal of Glencoe Visitor Centre
The National Trust for Scotland鈥檚 ambitious five-year plan is underway to enhance the visitor experience at key sites across Scotland.
A number of landmark buildings are being restored and most recently works have commenced on both the rescue of the Hill House (Charles Rennie Mackintosh鈥檚 domestic masterpiece) and the renewal of Glencoe Visitor Centre, where G&T is providing Project Management, Cost Management and Principal Designer Services.
The Hill House in Helensburgh has been absorbing the rain, putting the building and its unique interiors at risk since it was built more than a century ago. Now the conservation charity is surrounding the building with an innovative chainmail structure over the next six months, to protect it from the elements.
漏 Carmody Groarke
"This is a project that has been many, many years in the making and it is wonderful to be at the point that we鈥檙e now seeing work begin to save such a significant place."鈥婻ichard Williams, General Manager for Glasgow and West at the National Trust for Scotland
This semi-permeable metallic mesh pavilion, designed by award-winning architects Carmody Groarke, will allow the building to dry out over a number of years. In doing so, further conservation work can commence to save the world-famous house for generations to come.
The house and gardens will be closed to the public during the construction of the pavilion, otherwise known as the 鈥楤ox鈥�, but they are expected to reopen in late spring 2019 complete with new raised walkways around the exterior of the house and over the roof. These will give visitors a completely new way of experiencing the Hill House and Mackintosh鈥檚 design, as well as offering stunning views over the Clyde estuary. A community hut will also be open on site regularly over the winter, giving visitors the chance to drop in and see how the build is going.
漏 Carmody Groarke
Richard Williams, General Manager for Glasgow and West at the National Trust for Scotland, said:
鈥淢ackintosh was a pioneer and a visionary and we鈥檙e reflecting that spirit in our approach to saving his domestic masterpiece. This is a project that has been many, many years in the making and it is wonderful to be at the point that we鈥檙e now seeing work begin to save such a significant place. What we鈥檙e doing here is a rescue plan for the long term and will, we鈥檙e sure, protect this incredible building for future generations.鈥�
Running alongside the Hill House project is the renewal of the Glencoe Visitor Centre. Glencoe is a hugely popular location within Scotland and this project is a top priority for Operations Manager, Emily Bryce, who believes the improved centre will make a huge difference to the visitor experience.
"We鈥檒l be making the most of the glen鈥檚 amazing stories, from its origins, millions of years ago, to the present day to give visitors an even more memorable experience."Emily Bryce, Operations Manager at the Glencoe Visitor Centre
Emily commented:
鈥淕lencoe is one of Scotland鈥檚 natural treasures and captures the imagination of many people, for many different reasons. We鈥檒l be making the most of the glen鈥檚 amazing stories, from its origins, millions of years ago, to the present day to give visitors an even more memorable experience and to explain why we do all we do to protect this place for the love of Scotland.鈥�
漏 Carmody Groarke
Gardiner & Theobald is providing Project Management, Cost Management and Principal Designer Services on a number of enhancement projects under the conservation charity鈥檚 拢57 million improvement plan over the next five years.
Find out more 小黄鸭视频 these projects in our case study.
Find out more 小黄鸭视频 our work in Scotland.