The Art Works: National Galleries of Scotland

Planning permission is pending on an ambitious Passivhaus development proposed in Edinburgh to house Scotland's national art collection and serve as a new cultural hub.

The Art Works will be a new facility for National Galleries of Scotland, which will include an archive, and multi-purpose building that aims to allow everyone to explore, discover, and engage with Scotland’s national art collection. Located on a brownfield site on the Granton waterfront in North-West Edinburgh, the building wiill provide archive space for more than 100,000 artworks from Scotland’s national art collection. The building will include publicly-accessible viewing rooms, study spaces and a community studio as well as a café.

Existing site for the Art Works National Galleries of Scotland

Proposed floor plan for the Art Works National Galleries of Scotland

Key stats

Construction: Steel frame
TFA: 9130 m²
Build start date: January 2024
Certified: Aiming for Passivhaus

The Art Works will be a purpose-built collection centre for the high-quality care, and the effective management and distribution of the national art collection. It will transform public access and will help deliver an international and national presence for research and education. It will also be an exemplar of high energy efficiency underpinned by the rigour of the Passivhaus standard.

National Galleries of Scotland

The Art Works, National Galleries of Scotland. Image credit: John McAslan & Partners

Construction

The building's structural frame will be steel with SFS (steel framing system) infill to the walls. The external envelope will comprise a 300mm composite panel fixed to the SFS, with profiled aluminium cladding and an aluminium curtain walling system. The proposed roofing strategy will include standing seam roofing on a structural deck.

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) combined with electric boilers will mean the new building's heating will be gas free. Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) with local and specialist exhaust ventilation systems will provide constant fresh air. This controlled ventilation will maintain stable temperature and humidity levels, important for art collections and archives.

The Art Works, National Galleries of Scotland. Image credit: John McAslan & Partners

Key team

Architect: John McAslan + Partners
Passivhaus Consultant & Multi-Disciplinary Engineers: Buro Happold
Project Manager: Faithful+Gould
Contractor: Morrison Construction
Passivhaus Certifier: MosArt

Join us

Are you working on similar civic projects and curious if a Passivhaus solution may work for your scheme? Join us at the 2023 UK Passivhaus Conference this 16-17 October. Thanks to generous sponsorship, we are delighted to offer a limited number of complimentary tickets to those working in the public sector. Join us!

Over two days we will be exploring the adaptability of Passivhaus, its implementation and benefits over a diverse range and scale of projects around the UK, and its potential applicability throughout Scotland! Be sure to register early for the site visits!