AL_A adds red glass entrance and panoramic extension to Paisley Museum

Construction has been completed on the Paisley Museum in Scotland, which has been extended and given a "dramatic red entrance" made from glass by Amanda Levete Architects.

The museum, which has an A-listed main building and incorporates Scotland's oldest public observatory, was redeveloped to have a more "dynamic" presence in Paisley.

British studio Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) has added a steel-clad panoramic extension with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, as well as an accessible entrance made from red glass at the front of the Paisley Museum.

"Paisley Museum has developed a completely new way of looking at the responsibilities of a museum and the architecture gives this expression and confidence; radical alterations inspired by Paisley's resilience and capacity for reinvention, light-filled spaces for the community in the new wing and a dramatic red entrance that expresses the town's radical spirit," principal of AL_A Amanda Levete said.

The museum, which showcases the area's history and claims to have the "finest collection of Paisley shawls in the world", was given significant repairs both internally and externally.

It now features modernised galleries on each floor and has double the space to showcase its collections. AL_A also added a learning space, a heritage centre, a restaurant and a shop.

Paisley Museum is complete with a new outdoor garden and public space, from which visitors can enjoy previously hidden views of the Coats Observatory.

The cultural centre will be operated by Renfrewshire's leisure and cultural charity OneRen.

"The building looks incredible and once the fit-out and installation of the objects and exhibitions is complete, we will have a visitor attraction that local people and communities will be proud of and one that will attract thousands of visitors to the town each year who will boost the local economy," said chair of OneRen Lisa-Marie Hughes.

The museum is now undergoing a fit-out period and object installation programme, expected to be completed over the remainder of this year before it reopens to the public.

Also in Scotland, Simpson & Brown has revived the 16th-century Fairburn Tower in the Scottish Highlands and O'Donnell Brown overhauled a 1970s community centre to create a performing arts hub.

The photography is courtesy of Renfrewshire Council.

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