Museum displaying progress in £46m refit

The 46 million re-development of the Chambers Street building is beginning to take shape, with more than 150 workers on site in recent months.

The Grand Gallery has recently been filled with a huge scaffolding structure used to redecorate the roof. Workers have uncovered more original features of the Victorian building, which are set to be incorporated into the design.

Gordon Gibb, an associate with Gareth Hoskins architects who are working on the revamp, said: "The most interesting architectural discovery, resulting from the various adaptations throughout the museum's history, has been finding a number of long since bricked-up Victorian archways.

"We had always hoped to find some original features in the galleries and it was satisfying to see them appear when the plasterwork was chipped away.

"We are now reinstating these to allow visitors to move freely through the galleries as was intended by the original architects."

Recently, trucks have been shuttling back and forth from the site to remove more than 5,500 cubic metres of soil, lowering the floor level to help create a stunning new arrivals hall.

New openings have also been created in the grand gallery floor, making it possible to see the atrium rooflight from the pavement level of the building for the first time.

Steve Kenicer, one of the engineers working on the project, added: "The creation of the arrivals hall has perhaps created the greatest technical challenge.

" In its previous incarnation, the basement area was crammed with a multitude of pipes, cables, ducts and machinery. In the refurbished building, almost all of this space has been opened up to create a continuous vaulted hall."

As well as the physical work, museum staff have also been preparing for the eventual installation of the new galleries and exhibits, set to begin in August.

The designs of most exhibitions are understood to have been completed, and work is set to start with software developers on the new interactive features.

Project director Fiona Bell said: "There is so much work going on. Whilst the building alterations and refurbishment work has been going on, the project team has also been busy preparing for the installation of the new exhibition spaces. Good progress has been made on text writing for the galleries and work has started in earnest to source wonderful images for the displays."

While the project has seen the main building closed, more than half of the museum remains open, with the full building set to re-open next summer.

The project has been jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Scottish Government, with a further 12m coming from fundraising.