Reimagining Egyptian Halls

An Ideas Competition for the adaptive reuse of Thomson’s Egyptian Halls

In 2019, The Alexander Thomson Society invited designers from around the world to develop ideas for the adaptive re-use of Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s Egyptian Halls, one of Glasgow’s greatest historic buildings.

The objective of the completion was to invite innovative, imaginative and purposeful design solutions for the reuse of the A-listed Egyptian Halls, a warehouse building completed in 1872 on Union Street, Glasgow by the celebrated, nineteenth-century architect Alexander Thomson (1817-1875).

The purpose of this competition and exhibition was not to form a feasibility study or develop an architectural approach, but to raise awareness of an important part of Glasgow’s architectural heritage which unfortunately is in a poor condition and at significant risk of further decay and possible demolition.

The Society invited entrants to generate concepts for alternative uses for the Egyptian Halls and wanted to provide little limits to entrants creativity. The only conditions applied were:
– The Union Street facade and the rear facade to the lane must be retained and restoration assumed;
– The internal cast iron structure may be retained or adjusted as a matter of judgement;
– Roof top additions are to respect the appearance of the building from the street.

The Submissions were reviewed on the basis of quality, strength of concept, intergration with the original building fabric and the response to the wider urban context of the site.

We received 21 entries to the competition, both from the UK and from farther afield, including the USA, India, Brazil, Russia, the Phillipines, Slovenia and China.

The winning entries are published below. We also plan to launch a public vote for the entries, allowing members of the public and our membership to vote for the entires which they think are best, or to offer alternative suggestions.

Temple of Thought

by Igor Shkut & Vasilii Portnyagin from Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Winning Entry

The Museum of Slavery

by Gavin Fraser from Polmont, UK

Commended Entry

A new school for Glasgow

by James Faulds & Tom Stark from Glasgow, UK

Commended Entry

Winning Entry

Temple of Thought

by Igor Shkut & Vasilii Portnyagin from Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Concept offers premises for different types of daily life, business and cultural activities: quiet work in solitude or in a group, holding events or exhibitions, socialising and relaxing, organising events or education.

Internal space is inspired by the noble beauty of the façade, bringing Egyptian motifs to continue in interior creating a different spatial experience, achieved by different width- height ratio and variety of natural and artificial lighting. Lack of décor and relatively neutral interiors make this spaces possible to contain a different function.

The entrance lobby to the entire height of the façade and a staircase running through all floors to the rooftop allows to view the facade and the city behind it as an architectural exhibit. Also it brings ornamental screen light effect to the interior. Ground floor, courtyard and roof open to the street to make the building a place of attraction and interest.

While ground floor provides rapid exchange of experience and communication, top makes a place for concentration and work of thought with its library and galleries for art and exhibition.

The suggested possible functions of the building are: co-working, a library, a lecture hall, a cafe, small group working ‘boxes’ for negotiations group and individual work, an open roof with landscaping, an accessible green backyard, workshops, a photo studio, cinema centre, an art gallery.

This mixed-use space will contribute to active public life, thoughts and cultural exchange, as well as development of the district.

Commended Entry

The Museum of Slavery

by Gavin Fraser from Polmont, UK

The concept of the project is to create a memorial
and museum for Slavery and its victims, specifically relating to Scottish and Glasgow related slavery and indentured labour. When we walk around Glasgow, not so far from Union St, we can see many remnants of Glasgow’s grizzly slave related history; the Merchant city, Virginia Street and Jamaica St to name but a few. But beyond this contextual reference to slavery, we see the remnants of its lucrative life within Glasgow’s fine buildings from the 19th century. Indeed, the ornamentation, wealth and construction of these buildings, civic and otherwise, are all reflections of our slaving past, with nothing to commemorate or recognise this history. As Celeste-Marie Bernier, professor of Black Studies at Edinburgh University, puts it;

"Slavery bleeds in every building, in every brick, in every town across Scotland."

And furthermore, as David Hayman expresses;
"Scots were plantation owners, slave owners, merchant ship owners. The profits fired Scotland’s industrial growth and in every city in our nation you will find civic buildings and private homes built from the profits of slavery – bricks drenched in blood."

Bearing this in mind, it is a necessity that a city like Glasgow stands up and recognises its historical failings, a means by which to achieve this being establishing a memorial for the victims, and a museum for educating the public about forgotten history.

Therefore it is apt to consider a building such as the Egyptian halls, with its exuberant stone-work and rich materials, to be quite appropriate for the role of a Slavery museum – although it may not have been built directly from the profits of slavery, it represents a culture and a period in history synonymous with slavery and its profits.

Within the final design, I have tried to capture the essence of Thomson’s architecture, and combine it with a few very simple and tactile elements. As far as possible the original building shines through any additions, which have been carefully designed to be recognisable and in balance with the existing architecture. I have placed a strong emphasis on restoration, specifically of the facades and existing structure, and utilising these elements as inspiration for any intervention’s places within the buildings.

Commended Entry

A new school for Glasgow

by James Faulds & Tom Stark from Glasgow, UK

Contemporary urban practice identifies that a ‘return to the city’ is now the necessary course to rescue
urban centres from over-commercialisation and privatisation, reinstating the city as a place to work, live and learn. With attention paid to this movement, the city of Glasgow is currently in the throes of a programme of implementing and developing strategies to make the city a move liveable environment. With this, provision of amenity is essential to ensure that the city can fulfil its future aims. This project proposes the Egyptian Halls as a component in this strategy, adjusted and reformulated into an inner-city primary school, of around two hundred and forty pupils, serving inhabitants of the city centre.

The plans for the adapted building form a new spatial composition clustering classrooms and support spaces along a spine of circulation within Thomson’s original construction, opening the building to a generous availability of light and spatial variety. Two spiral staircases flank central corridors which act as streets feeding into a sequence of squares - the gym hall and cafeteria. Each square forms a double-height volume, creating galleries to the upper level that serve to open the floor plates of the building, pulling light further into the relatively deep plan and negating the occurrence of internalised rooms of study.

Internally, the historic structural grid has been rearranged, the original cast-iron columns integrated into the new structural system. To the classrooms and cloakrooms, clerestory windows at high level further permit light within the building and provide spatial continuity between the rooms. A palette of birch plywood and ceramic tile create a robust yet light finish to the internal spaces. Playground space for the school is accommodated within the original attic storey of the Egyptian Halls. Set behind Thomson’s modelled parapet, the outdoor area is maximised through the addition of a second enclosed level of play space recesses from the original building boundary limiting its visual impact on the facade.

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition. We will put all entries here soon.