Richard Murphy Architects
Fruitmarket Gallery, 29 Market St, Edinburgh, Scotland 1991& 1999-2001
Original Fruitmarket: Photo by Richard Murphy Architects
Successful refurbishment to form a new art gallery in former Fruit Market at south edge of Waverley Station.
Photo by Richard Murphy Architects
The southern (entry) façade of the Fruitmarket Gallery is layered from old to new and solid to transparent. The rectangular aluminium roof overlaps the irregular sandstone walls below creating an interesting disjuncture between wall and increaingly overhanging roof. This asymmetry is balanced by contrapunctal elements from 'filigree' metal balustrading to a lifting hoist or lead-clad panel.
Photo by Richard Murphy Architects
Internally the show is stolen by the central stair, the lower portion of which hangs in the space and was designed to lift up when the upper gallery was closed. The surfaces of the existing steelwork are painted a refreshing white, and the floors are t&g boarding throughout. The Fruitmarket Cafe is on the ground floor of the Art Gallery, with strong visual connection to the street, and a bookshop by the entry, shortly to be enlarged.
The Fruitmarket Gallery received a RIBA Award in 1993
Approx. build cost: £327k
Fruitmarket Gallery: Northern Lights
Photo by Richard Murphy Architects
Richard Murphy Architects designed - with Peter Fink the London lighting designer - a radical lighting scheme for the building and pavement unveiled on January 1st 2001; this followed refurbishment of the facade and overlapping soffit to allow the light, and building, to really shine.
Fruitmarket Northern Lights: Photo by Peter Fink / art2Architecture
The light pipe in the pavement - 16.7 billion colour options - and the colour blasters to the soffit and glass blocks are all supplied by LTP and specified by Peter Fink at art2Architecture.
Fruitmarket Gallery: Northern Lights - Photo by Adrian Welch
"Inspired by the aurora borealis, and designed by Anglo-Czech artist Peter Fink, the completed artwork consists of a 'roof fin' triangle which throws gently changing lightwashes across the exterior of the gallery and features light detailing on the east and west roof. The final addition of the light pavement illuminates all passers by with an undulating uplight of colour".
Fruitmarket Gallery Northern Lights - Website:
www.fruitmarket.co.uk/northernlights.html
Architecture Books
Scottish Architecture
News Excerpt re Fruitmarket Gallery:
Fruitmarket Gallery - Refurbishment
Andrew Miller’s contribution to the refurbishment of Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery: Made In Brasil (2003) includes bookcase units, tables and seating that form the Fruitmarket Gallery refurbished bookshop.
Feb 03
Richard Murphy: some of the Edinburgh Buildings featured on this site:
Fruitmarket Gallery
Royal Fine Arts Commission
Moray Place
Oloroso
Dublin Street
Richard Murphy: some of the Scottish Buildings featured:
Dundee Contemporary Arts
Stirling Tolbooth
Other Edinburgh Galleries:
Dean Gallery
Fruitmarket Gallery
National Gallery of Scotland
RSA / Weston Link
Scottish Portrait Gallery
SNGMA
Edinburgh : back to index
Fruitmarket Day Event jointly set up by Mick Burns & Adrian Welch:
Fruitmarket Gallery Inside Out