Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
| Glasgow International Concert Hall | |
 |
|
| Address | 2 Sauchiehall Street G2 3NY Glasgow  United Kingdom
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|---|---|
| Owner | Glasgow City Council |
| Type | Concert hall |
| Capacity | 2475 (Main Auditorium) 500 (Strathclyde Suite) 300 (Lomond Foyer) 300 (Clyde Foyer) 300 (Exhibition Hall) 120 (Buchanan Suite) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Years active | 1990 - Present |
| Architect | Sir Leslie Martin |
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is an arts venue, in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow’s City Halls and Old Fruitmarket venue. The Catering Department is operated by Encore Hospitality.
Planned as the Glasgow International Concert Hall and constructed in the late 80s, the building was officially opened in October 1990, after what had been a controversial construction programme, beset with technical and financial problems.
It was a byproduct of Glasgow's 1990 City of Culture status, and was intended as a replacement for St. Andrews Hall, adjacent to the Mitchell Library, which had been destroyed by fire in 1962. It was seen as a major symbol of the city's regeneration after years of neglect and deprivation. The hall occupies a site at the junction of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street, which was once home to the Glasgow NAAFI, and the former Parliamentary Road, which was rendered derelict after the building of Buchanan bus station in 1978. The development also included plans for a massive shopping mall, which would become the Buchanan Galleries, although it was almost a decade later before this was realised.
It is often used for non-music events, such as graduation ceremonies for nearby Glasgow Caledonian University. In addition, the auditorium area is insulated by a massive rubber membrane built into the floor - intended to dampen out noise and vibration from the Subway tracks which run underneath.
During the building phase, it attracted much criticism from the press owing to its huge cost and the management of its construction, its over-imposing facade and even the acoustics of the main auditorium have been criticised. The project ran out of money during construction and building work stopped in 1989. The East wall of the building was left without sandstone cladding for the first 6 years of its life, some debate exists over whether this unsightly mess was in anticipation of the Buchanan Galleries which now adjoins onto this part of the building, or whether this was due to the financial problems. It earned the nickname of "Lally's Palais" (Lally's Palace) due to Lord Provost Pat Lally's leading role in the development.
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