Transformation of North Rotunda into new music venue takes step forward with roof renovation

The 5.5 ton cupola has been crafted from oak and lead, with the original striking copper weathervane at the peak, and is a significant step in the ongoing work to transform the historic building into a live music and wedding venue – The Rotunda and Roundhouse. The new feature is a painstaking recreation of the original roof and has taken six months to make, at a cost of £100,000.

Keith Vallance of owner developers Forrest Group said: “This is a big step forward for this massive project – and it feels like it too.

“Seeing the crane slowly lower this beautiful hand-crafted structure on to the peak of the roof was a real landmark moment.

“It’s exciting to see our plans begin to take shape - the time and effort we have taken to get this right has all been worth it.

“We are creating an exciting new venue but as we always said, we’re doing so in a very respectful way, restoring the structure to enhance the beautiful old features and showcase them in the best way possible.”

The 5500kg cupola is five metres in diameter and is constructed from an accoya timber frame, with a lead roof and double glazed individually paned windows. The painstaking attention to detail meant it took half a year to create – and it is topped by the carefully refurbished original weather vane.

Main contractors Fultons and specialists Maxwells, both of Govan, combined to produce the piece, which was lowered into place delicately by a 150ft crane by Forsyth’s, with the excited but presumably slightly nervous owners looking on.

Keith said: “A huge team have made this happen today and it really does feel special to look across from The RED Sky Bar and see this beautiful new dome sitting on top of the North Rotunda building.

“There’s a lot of work still to do of course but watching on as the expert team manoeuvered this massive work of art into position felt like a key moment – and of course it is structurally important in terms of allowing other works to kick in now it’s in place.

“It sort of looks and feels like the cherry has been placed on top of the cake – even though we have quite a bit of baking still to do.

“I hope it give people a thrill to see this striking but sympathetic element of the old building – it certainly did for us.. once it was secured in place safely!”

The owners of the neighbouring Radisson RED hotel bought the building in June 2023 and plan to invest £15million to transform the structure over three levels into ‘The Roundhouse’ venue on the ground floor and ‘The Rotunda’, on the upper floors, while restoring and enhancing the historic features of the original structure.

Forrest has taken inspiration from Nashville’s world-famous live music circuit to design a new ground floor space, created with live performance in mind – with two upper floors created for hosting weddings, conferences and events.

The Rotunda and Roundhouse will open in 2026.