Architecture and Design Scotland's Top 5 Door Open Days
September sees the Doors Open to a number of interesting and intriguing buildings across Scotland, allowing you a sneak peak into places normally not open to the public.
In 2016 we have been promoting the Best of the Best exhibition which pulls together award-winning buildings, places and communities from the past five years.
In the spirit of the Doors Open Day we’ve highlighted a number of places that will be running events or will be open to the public on the Doors Open Days in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Don’t forget that there are plenty of places that may not have a specific activity during Doors Open Day but will be worth checking out if and when you’re out and about.
Here are some of the Best of the Best projects open during Doors Open Day.
Visit the Victorian halls of the historic burgh of Maryhill. The unique stained glass windows by artist Stephen Adam tell the story of Maryhill’s industrial social past.
17 September (10am to 4pm) and 18 September (10am to 4pm)
Tours on Saturday and Sunday (11am; 2pm) Duration: 60mins.
2015 RIAS Award Winner: Theatre Royal by Page Park Architects
17 September 2016 (10am to 11.15am)
The Theatre Royal is managed by the Ambassadors Theatre Group and is the performance home to both Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet, and host to a variety of visiting performances. The theatre was transformed in 2014 following the dramatic extension of the foyer space. Tours on Saturday 17 September every 15 mins 10am-11:15am. Durations: 40 mins. Meeting Point: Foyer Ground Floor
2013 The Saltire Society Winners: The Ramp House – Chambers McMillan Architects, Edinburgh (
Visit this award winning architect’s own two storey wheelchair accessible family home and studio on a tight urban site based around an unfolding 28m long ramp. It has resulted in a design that is both open plan and complex, with spaces connecting whilst still feeling separate and able to be used for different purposes. A restrained front façade using stone and shingles contrasts with the copper clad playful forms of the garden façade.
24 September 2016 (12 noon to 5 pm) & 25 September 2016 (12 noon to 5 pm)
2014 RIAS Award and Scottish Civic Trust My Place Award Winner
The Grassmarket Community Project, Gareth Hoskins Architects
This people-led project involved building a new extension to the historic Kirkhouse in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket to provide new training facilities and a multi-purpose rental venue to bring in much-needed income for social enterprise activities.
Check out its opening hours as part of Doors Open Day here.
2015 RIAS Awards, Best Use of Timber and Resource Efficiency Winner
Arcadia Nursery, Malcolm Fraser Architects
Arcadia Nursery was awarded in three categories at the 2015 RIAS awards and will host a special talk on Healthy Buildings: Light, timber and breathing construction on 20 September.
The nursery at Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings campus is designed around the “free-play” concept, which helps develop children’s confidence, independence and creativity. A Cross-Laminated Timber structure provides the perfect combination of creating a warm, tactile interior, whilst also using a natural, sustainable product that could structurally achieve the clear roof volumes. Book your free place for the event here.
For everything else …
Check out the full activities across the Doors Open network on these websites:
http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/
http://glasgowdoorsopenday.com/
http://www.cockburnassociation.org.uk/edinburgh-doors-open-day/
Please note that 2013 winner of the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning – The Sir Duncan Rice Library Aberdeen – will host the Best of the Best exhibition from 23 September until 2 October .
Source: Architecture and Design Scotland
Supporting Scotland's Towns