SCAFFOLDING has been erected on Glasgow’s North Rotunda building ahead of it being transformed into a ‘Nashville-inspired’ entertainment venue.
JR Scaffold has erected scaffolding which accommodates the unique, circular shape of the building, and will enable John Fulton Plumbing & Roofing to undertake work to help restore the building to its former glory on behalf of owners, The Forrest Group.
The Forrest Group is investing £15 million in the project to transform North Rotunda into an entertainment venue with live performance area, beer garden and restaurant, as well as space on the upper floors for weddings, conferences and events.
The building has been vacant since September last year and requires a ‘significant’ amount of restoration work with many of its architectural features covered up or rotting away.
JR Scaffold has created a fully boarded perimeter scaffold, providing access to all levels of the building and includes a loading bay to allow the loading of materials at all levels. A number of beamed lifting points have been provided to allow for heavy stone to be lifted up into place on the building.
The bespoke design includes a roof saddle scaffold which allows access to the glass cupola on the top of the roof, enabling the removal and re-instatement of all its lead. Edge protection has also been erected on the roof to allow the slate roof to be restored.
Within North Rotunda, a bespoke crash deck scaffold has been installed underneath the inside of the glass cupola which acts as a fall prevention measure for the operatives working on the exterior of the cupola.
The firm 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.
JR Scaffolding added that it is projected that the bulk of the scaffolding will remain in place for six months with some smaller aspects of the build erected and dismantled throughout the course of the project.
John Jack, contracts director at JR Scaffold is leading the project. He 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) which comprises the SEC Centre, SEC Armadillo and OVO Hydro.
“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.”
