96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness

Listed building refurbishment:

96 Academy Street

Inverness · 2020

Our role
Principal contractor
Client
Cairngorm Taverns Ltd
Architect
MAKAR
Value
£1m to £2m
Programme
July 2018 to 2020
Scope
Stone repair and pointing, lime harling, re-slating, leadwork, restoration of high-level mosaics, strip out, new floors, linings, stairs, services and internal fit out

Nos 96 to 104 Academy Street is a three-storey Category B listed building, built as the offices of the Rose Street Foundry and Engineering Company, with workshops behind. Its front and side elevations carry four mosaics of foundry workers set in tall arched heads. Vacant above ground floor and on the Buildings at Risk register, it was bought by Cairngorm Taverns for a new bar and restaurant. MAKAR designed the scheme, with Alan Marshall as conservation architect, and we carried out the works as principal contractor.

96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness — photograph 1
96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness — photograph 2
96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness — photograph 3
96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness — photograph 4
96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness — photograph 5
96 Academy Street, 96 to 104 Academy Street, Inverness — photograph 6

The challenge

Years of neglect had left the roofs, stonework and windows in urgent need of repair, and the specialist survey of the mosaics warned that without prompt action they could be lost. Inside, the building was a hybrid of masonry walls and cast iron columns carrying timber floors, so the strip out had to be opened up carefully and checked with the structural engineer as the structure was revealed. The site sits on a busy city centre street, so scaffold, pedestrian routes and the site compound had to be planned with the client and the council before work could begin.

Our solution

A perimeter scaffold gave access to the elevations, where stone and mortar were assessed with the conservation architect before repairs were agreed. Defective sandstone was cut out and replaced with Lazonby sandstone, and joints were repointed in lime mortar: a mix of NHL 5 and quicklime for wider beds and NHL 3.5 for fine joints. Roofs were stripped, salvageable slates sorted and relaid, and reclaimed slate used to make up the balance, over a new roofing membrane, with lead flashings and new rhones and downpipes. Cement render on the rear wall was replaced with lime harling. The high-level mosaics were removed, restored and refixed by specialist conservators working to the Mosaic Restoration Company's report. Inside, we stripped out and rebuilt the building as a ground floor bar, first floor restaurant and kitchen, with new floors, insulated wall linings, a spiral stair and a platform lift, fitted out to respect its industrial character.

Outcomes

A landmark back in use

A listed building left vacant for decades now serves as a bar and restaurant at the heart of Inverness.

Historic fabric repaired

Stonework, slate roofs and lead were conserved or replaced like for like using lime and matching stone.

Mosaics saved

The foundry mosaics were removed, restored and returned to their arched heads on Academy Street.

← All projects

Have a similar building?

Tell us about it and we’ll come back to you with how we’d approach it.

Discuss your project Call 01330 833 941

One of 1,000+ projects

More schools, libraries & commercial

See all 234 named projects
Hillside School, Aberdour

Next project

Hillside School

Aberdour