Project Update

There were some interesting articles in today's media - The Herald newspaper, radio, Evening News - about the delays that I mentioned in my last blog update so I thought it would be useful to provide links to a couple of the pieces. They say it as well as I can so it's worth having a read!

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2100480.0.More_delays_hit_Usher_Hall_revamp_as_problems_discovered.php

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2100415.0.What_lies_beneath_foundations_of_Usher_Hall_lead_to_setbacks.php

As you will see from previous photos the upgrading of the Usher Hall is progressing, and many areas are coming along well. After last year's festival the contractor took full control of the Hall - we are currently renting office accommodation from our neighbours, the Lyceum Theatre, as a temporary base. The contractor discovered the need to reinforce the foundations of the building with more underpinning (see previous posts) and provide additional support to some internal structures such as the circular stairwell (last post). This work means that the full project will take longer to fully complete but there is no concern at this stage over the use of the venue for this coming winter season by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. It will push back our 'official' opening, most likely to be Spring 2009. There are a lot of operational factors to take into account here and I'll keep you posted.

It will probably be the case that some temporary public facilities such as toilets and box office are put on site for the period of the Festival the Autumn season but we expect the hall itself to be operational. A planning team is being set up to ensure that the needs of the artists, orchestras and audiences are satisfied. The team that is managing and delivering the project is working through the implications of the revised programme of construction work.

Working on a iconic, Grade A listed concert hall was always going to present challenges and in the long run you will find it worth the effort!

Fixing a hole where the rain gets in...

...and stops my mind from wandering. Here are 2 pictures taken from what used to be the ladies toilet at stalls level on the south side of the hall (Grindlay Street). They show the demolition of the old triangular stairwell that took people to and from the Upper Circle, and is where we will have a new circular staircase to connect all three levels of the hall. This was always one of the key aims of the project as the old stairwell was designed to keep the masses separate from the glitterati of Edinburgh's Edwardian society. I don't think any survive now so we can all mix more freely.

The partial view of the yellow machine is a robotic demolition tool. It can be controlled to go into tight/awkward areas and blast away so that humans don't have to.

This area of the project has caused many headaches. The interior concrete wall proved to be in poor condition and would not support the structure of the new stairwell. A large amount of steel reinforcement has had to go in to the walls to provide the necessary strength and support, which has been costly and caused some time delays.

Views from the inside

Two views looking across the Upper Circle foyer area. There will be 2 new bars and cloakrooms in these spaces. We all think this is one of the best public spaces in the Hall and hope to use it for more functions and talks when we re-open.

Views from the inside

I said a few weeks ago that we were having a tour of the building. Well, we all got booted and suited and I now have some shots of what's happening inside the building. There is still a lot of demolition work going on to the stairwells. They are concrete walling the basement, and installing a lot of pipes and ducting to upgrade our terrible air-handling system (for those of you at Festival concerts prior to 2007 will know what I mean!).

The first one is taken looking down the Grand Circle corridor from the backstage access door on the Cambridge St (north) side of the hall. The second is looking down the Grand Circle corridor from the Grindlay Suite side. The workman is breaking through the wall to create the opening for the lift.