Hoskins Architects was appointed by the National Galleries of Scotland a decade ago to redevelop the Neoclassical National Gallery, which is located on the Mound in Edinburgh and displays the nations best artworks, spanning a 150-year period. The revamped building opened to the public in October of last year.The appointment followed a high-profile architecture competition. The other finalists were LDN Architects, John McAslan + Partners, MUMA and Page\Park.Due to the complexity of the project, Hoskins team began by carrying out detailed research and consultation in order to understand the limitations and opportunities of the scheme.AdvertisementThe 38 million project was beset by delays due to rising costs. Yet major challenges were overcome, thanks to the collaborative relationship between architect, contractor and client, and the long-awaited development was finally completed in September of last year. This opened up a world-class gallery space below the mid-19th-century WH Playfair-designed National building, as well as reworking dingy 1970s office space and creating new circulation routes and extensive landscaping.The project connects to the 2004 John Miller and Partners Weston Link, opening up new visitor circulation routes to the Category A-listed gallery above. It also creates a new faade onto East Princes Street Gardens and the key internal space known as Gardens View, a foyer in front of the Scottish Galleries which features, to one side, a large picture window, allowing visitors to enjoy views of the gardens and orientate themselves within Edinburgh.All in all, the remodelled galleries have almost doubled the area available for display, transforming what was once a cramped, dark and disconnected space into a carefully controlled exercise in space and light that relates directly to the surrounding historical city context.The AJAA judges toured the galleries with client National Galleries of Scotland rather than with the architect, yet came away wowed by the canny and cohesive approach taken by the designer.It has been done with Victorian-like bravery, said one judge. And all in the name of culture.Others praised the elegantly woven-together movement through various spaces that the visitor experiences and the various technical challenges of construction overcome, including the reconfiguration of pre-existing concrete basement structures to allow for the creation of a single visitor route.AdvertisementWhile the AJ recognises that Hoskins has sadly shut its UK operations as of this year, this complex project was worthy of winning, as it was one that very few architects could achieve. The AJAA panel summed up the ambitious project as an amazing achievement, which felt very appropriate for its civic status.To view all the winners of the 2024 AJ Architecture Awards, click hereThe 2024 AJ Architecture Awards are sponsored by