Royal College Building

ECD Architects were appointed in 2017 under both the major and minor architectural frameworks for the University of Strathclyde. Our role focused on delivering a phased programme of sensitive upgrades to the Royal College Building—an iconic structure in the Glasgow Central Conservation Area and one of the University’s most significant heritage assets. Working to the University’s Conservation Plan, we developed a long-term strategy that modernised the building while safeguarding its architectural integrity. The Royal College had suffered from uncoordinated interventions over the decades; our approach brought coherence, functionality, and a focus on sustainability.

Phases included office refurbishments, thermal upgrades, and accessibility improvements, such as reactivating a disused lift shaft and installing a new emergency lift. Later works delivered collaborative workspaces, laboratory refurbishments, and a state-of-the-art Robotically-Enabled Sensing (RES) Lab for the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering and the Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering.

A key challenge was balancing fire safety compliance with conservation. ECD developed a bespoke strategy that avoided wholesale replacement of original panelled doors by proposing revised compartmentation lines and sensitively detailed new fire-rated doors. Retained doors were upgraded with intumescent seals to maintain reversibility.

Conservation works included restoring terrazzo floors, plaster cornices, and glazed wall tiles, while modern services were integrated discreetly to minimise visual impact. The original plenum ventilation system was preserved and adapted. Although full EnerPHit certification wasn’t possible, retrofit principles informed all phases, with thermal upgrades—including refurbished sash-and-case windows—secured via Listed Building Consent.

The project demonstrates ECD’s conservation-minded yet forward-looking methodology. It has enhanced the building’s usability, improved environmental performance, and set a benchmark for sympathetic, high-quality design across the University’s estate.

Team:

• University of Strathclyde – Client & Clerk of Works
• ECD Architects – Architect / Contract Administrator / Lead Consultant
• Stantec – Structural Engineer
• Hulley & Kirkwood – Mechanical & Electrical Consultants
• Currie & Brown – Cost Consultants
• Keegans – Principal Designer
• Taylor & Fraser – Main Contractor

Photography by Alan McAteer.