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Morris & Spottiswood, one of Scotland’s leading providers of fitout, housing and maintenance services, has won a major contract to transform the historic Briggait building in Glasgow’s Merchant City into a £6.3 million world class home for artists and arts organisations.   

The £5m contract awarded by the Wasps Trust will see the Grade A-listed former Victorian fish market turned into one of the largest cultural facilities in Scotland,  offering artists’ studios, creative industries retail/office spaces and a café and two exhibition/display spaces. It will create a new public space on the riverfront, within the grandeur of the 1873 market hall, which will be restored to its former glory.  

The contract award follows eight years of planning, design and fundraising by the Wasps Trust, a charitable body established in 1993 to buy and develop property for arts usage.  

Redevelopment starts this week and is scheduled to take twelve months to complete. The work includes stripping out walls, floors, all services and major structural alterations. The fitout will also involve installation of a mezzanine floor, curtain walling, roof glazing, new mechanical and electrical installations and roof lighting. A glass atrium is to be constructed to connect the upper floor and lower floors allowing natural light to be dispersed into the artists’ studios.  

One of the key challenges of the extensive works programme will be the preservation of the 17th century merchant’s steeple located in the market hall, which will require constant monitoring round the clock by a team of structural engineers. 

Commenting on winning the contract, Craig Murie, Business Unit Director at Morris and Spottiswood, said, “We are delighted to be involved in the transformation of such an iconic building which is undoubtedly one of the best surviving market halls in the UK, and to be part of the team that will be responsible for giving the Briggait a new lease of life for many future generations.” 

Morris & Spottiswood employs 600 people at its offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester. The company is strongly associated with arts and culture in Scotland. Last year the company was appointed to lead the renovation of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s internationally acclaimed masterwork, at the Glasgow School of Art. For several years the company has commissioned its own artist in residence programme and regularly donates art and resources to deserving causes including the Lodging House Mission in the East End of Glasgow.

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Issued on behalf of Morris and Spottiswood by Jen Nash, Panache Communications, Tel. 0141 589 0514/07971 466 220 jen@panachecommunications.co.uk

Issued on behalf of Morris and Spottiswood by Jen Nash, Panache Communications, Tel. 0141 589 0514/07971 466 220 jen@panachecommunications.co.uk

Editor’s note: Morris & Spottiswood is a leading provider of fit out and maintenance services to the retail, banking, commercial, education and healthcare sectors across North West England and Scotland. Established in 1925, the company is Britain’s third largest shopfitter. Morris & Spottiswood is also a leading regional provider of refurbishment and maintenance services to the affordable housing sector.