Work of art

This most unusual of museums has a main hall designed as an Italian piazza. One gallery includes a Spitfire suspended above a giraffe surrounded by a flock of assorted stuffed birds. Suits of armour sit alongside walrus skulls. There is even a myth that the original architects designed the building facing the wrong way and committed suicide on its completion.

When Glasgow City Council decided that Kelvingrove needed restoring it could not have foreseen how many eccentricities would beset the project. But this unconventional museum was never going to fit snugly into some standard building project mould.

The two phases – a base build worth £20m and a £7.9m fit-out – were operated under two contracts of different types. The first was a two-stage traditional JCT, the second a form of construction management. Major extra works were dropped in part way through the construction schedule. To add more spice to the mix, half the money needed for the project was not guaranteed at the start of the contract: the client was relying on a public appeal to scrape together the funds.

On paper the project would seem a recipe for disaster. In reality, the museum was reopened on 11 July 2006 on time and within budget.

The museum has been extensively restored. Excavation work directly under the outer wings has created 1,800m2 of extra space. There is a new entrance to the front of the museum, which was always meant to face the river and not the road. There’s also a new café, restaurant, kitchens, lecture theatre and education suite. Overall there is 35% more floor space, allowing the museum to exhibit 8,000 artefacts, which is 3,000 more than before the restoration.

Many of those working on the museum had an emotional attachment to it. We had visited as kids and have since taken our children to see all the amazing things there

George Webb, technical director, Capita Symonds

George Webb, technical director for Capita Symonds, was the scheme’s QS and project manager. He puts its success down to “personalities, willingness and the prestige of the project”. “Many of those working on the museum had an emotional attachment to it. We had visited as kids and have since taken our children to see all of the amazing things there.”

Kelvingrove is the most visited museum in the UK outside of London, he adds. “I’m not saying it was a walk in the park, by any means. We had disagreements on how to go about things, a multitude of extras to shoehorn into a tight schedule, run-ins with Greenpeace and a rather tall giraffe to deal with.”

In 1999 the city applied for Heritage Lottery Funding (HLF) for the project based on an outline design drawn up by the council. This failed. By the second application Capita Symonds had been formally appointed as leader of the consortium. Architect Building Design Partnership took the initial designs and worked up alternative schemes for a £14m minimal ‘tart-up’ and a comprehensive refurbishment, costing £47m. The application for HLF was granted for a scheme that was priced mid-way between the two options at around £25m. Next, Capita Symonds was appointed to manage the base build – the structural and services element of the project.

However, the HLF did not cover the cost of the project and some £5m still had to be found. No one could have foreseen the response to the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal: money came pouring in from charitable foundations, private donors and the general public. Tom Hunter, a Scottish entrepreneur, pledged £5.5m for a new educational suite and over the next few years 9,000 other donors, many of them Glaswegians, gave between £5 and £10,000 to swell the fund to an astounding £12.75m.

The sum reflects the emotional attachment to the museum of the city and beyond. Built after an architectural competition held in 1892, the building opened in 1901. Crowds flocked to see the vast collection of exhibits and to marvel at the museum’s electric lighting.

There’s a myth that the original architects designed the building facing the wrong way and committed suicide on its completion

When it came to the refurbishment, the base build started in October 2003, with the construction team aware that funds had not yet been raised to pay for all works required. Reservicing the building with new electrics, heat and ventilation was a priority as was repair work to the roof and the removal of accretions, which had built up over a century of existence in Scotland’s main industrial port city. Exhibits had to be carefully decanted to a new £10m store outside the city. Both Sir Roger, a stuffed bull elephant, and an extremely heavy sarcophagus could not be moved. They were boxed up on site in temperature- and humidity-controlled enclosures. Webb chuckles that “one important job was the regular checking of Sir Roger’s temperature”.

As work progressed and the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal began to mount, extra works were added to the original schedule. “We had always factored in extra works as a list of priorities, which would be tackled if the money became available,” says Webb. “The contractor knew about the possibility of these extras, but nothing was clear regarding the programme or the cost impact.

“In the end everything was negotiated as we went along. The contractor was willing to embrace the additions and upheaval.”

One big item was the cleaning of all the internal stonework, he says. Capita’s solution was to juggle things so that scaffolding from sections of the exterior could be used inside for little extra time or cost.

Another issue was Greanpeace finding that the supply of the Forest Stewardship Council certified timber being used for the floors was being infiltrated with black market stock. Talks with them and research into new timbers sorted this out quickly, too, says Webb.

There was just the small problem of the giraffe. We took it out OK but when they brought it back we couldn’t get it in

George Webb, technical director, Capita Symonds

“It could have been a real mess but teamwork and a ‘let’s get it done’ attitude prevailed with no formal partnering agreement necessary. We all worked together really well. And we had a client with a great attitude: the council was happy to limit involvement to the regular reporting cycle we set up, otherwise it was very hands off.”

Ian Arbuckle, Capita Symonds’ QS, says: “We operated an open book policy at all times to ensure fairness due to all of the extra works, and to get the best out of everyone. There wasn’t a blank cheque, though. Everything was reconciled against budgets. We did have a £940,000 contingency fund but extra leadwork to the roof made a large dent in that.”

The base build wound down in June 2005 and the year-long fit-out began with Capita Symonds taking on the role of construction manager over a plethora of specialist trades. Each works package, from specialist audio equipment to glass display cases, was budgeted and managed separately.

“It all ran pretty smoothly,” says Webb. One major exhibit was the Spitfire, suspended high in a main gallery. Halcrow and Capita Symonds had to ensure that the building and two barrel vaults in particular could take the weight of the plane. After lengthy discussions and calculations the team inserted two compression beams across the span.

“Oh, and there was just the small problem of the giraffe,” adds Webb. “We took it out OK but when they brought it back we couldn’t get it in. It looked like it could be a bit embarrassing but we took it off its mount and with some careful manoeuvring it went in.”

The museum has been open for over two months now and if the current trends keep up, Kelvingrove will atttract 2m visitors this year. The public appear to have missed their favourite museum. Webb will miss it too. “It was a good project but I’m off to work on Zaha Hadid’s new designs for the Museum of Transport soon,” he says with a look of trepidation.