THE GROUND FLOOR

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Overview

Although called the Ground Floor, this is the level which is reached via stairs and lift from the Rear Entrance and via steps beside the Main Entrance.

From either entrance, you enter a foyer between the entrance doors and the Main Hall. We'll call these the South Foyer, inside the Rear Entrance and the North Foyer, inside the North Entrance.

The Main Hall is, therefore, the large space between these foyers (north/south) and rows of pillars which run north/south on each side, supporting the First Floor. The area of the Main Hall constitutes an atrium, to the roof of the building.

There are three rows of pillars, running north/south on each side of the Main Hall, which support a balcony at First Floor level. The space within these pillars is occupied by services and facilities, described below, whilst outside these are the East and West courts.

The courts are surrounded on the other three sides by a row of pillars supporting the First Floor balcony, behind which are the galleries on the Ground Floor. There's an atrium in the middle of each court to the roof of the building.

Layout

The North Foyer

This is the space between the North Entrance and the Main Hall. The middle pair of entrance doors (preferred) leads into a lobby which juts south into this space. To each side are steps to the First Floor galleries.

North Side

  west entrance doors
wall juts south
middle entrance door, from lobby
wall retreats
east entrance doors
Penny Press machine

East Side

  doorway to shop
wall with radiator
passage leading east towards Northeast Stairs
North Side
  adverts
East Side
  Northeast Stairs
South Side
  blank wall

South Side of Foyer

  doorway into Main Hall
large donations box
second door to Main Hall
map of building
third door into Main Hall

East Side

  passage towards Northwest Stairs
South Side
  blank wall
East Side
  Northeast Stairs
North Side
  wooden partition with windows
blank wall

Continuing West Side of Foyer

  wall with radiator
doorway to staff area
mobile information rack

The Main Hall

The Main Hall has a central information desk with mobile displays and a donations box. On the east and west sides are five archways between pillars, leading to facilities of interest. Towards the southeast corner are tables and chairs extending from the coffee shop, Coffee at Kelvingrove.

The pillars between the arches on each side are covered with gold name plates containing names of donors who contributed towards the refurbishment of the Museum.

Going clockwise from the east doors of the North Entrance.

North Side

  wall with name plates

East Side

  blank wall
first arch - towards Looking at Art and the Art Discovery Centre
pillar with name plates
second arch, metal rail and barrier round
Lower East Stairs
pillar with name plates
third arch - leading across top of steps, towards the East Court
north entrance to the Coffee at Kelvingrove, opposite top of stairs
pillar
seating area, donations box opposite, to west
fourth arch - west entrance to Coffee at Kelvingrove
gap in seating leads to entrance
seating resumes
pillar with name plates
fifth arch - towards Scottish Art and Looking at Design
pillar with no name plates

South Side

  3 sets of doors from south entrance

West Side, Going North

  pillar, no name plates
first arch - towards Glasgow Stories and Ancient Egypt
pillar with name plates
second arch - Mini Museum
pillar, with name plates
third arch - across top of Lower West Stairs, towards West Court, north entrance to Mini Museum opposite top of stairs
pillar, with name plates
fourth arch - rail and barrier around Lower West stairs
pillar with name plates
fifth arch - towards Scotland's Wildlife and Environment Discovery Centre
blank wall

North Wall

  wall with name plates
doors from North Foyer

The South Foyer

This lies between the doors from the Rear Entrance and the Main Hall. There's a push button controlled door at the west end of the entrance leading towards the automatic door to the lift to the terrace. This space also contains the foot of the Southeast and Southwest stairs to the First Floor galleries.

Going Clockwise from the west entrance doors.

West Side

  Southwest Stairs

North Side

  doors to hall, three pairs

East Side

Southeast Stairs, divided into two by central rail

South Side

  pair of doors – only the east one opened at the time of our survey
second pair of doors - both opened outwards at the time of our survey
pillar
revolving door
pillar
box
first pair outward opening doors
box with push button
second pair of doors, operated by button

To the East of the Main Hall

The three rows of four pillars east of the Main Hall provide five passages leading east, each of which is divided into two sections. Some of these units are occupied by features such as the Lower East Stairs. To aid understanding of this space, we consider each passage in turn, moving away from the Main Hall.

The First (North) Passage

North Side
  recess to statue of Graham Gilbert, RSA
blank wall
blank door
East End
  entrance to Looking at Art
South Side, Going East
  rear of Lower East Stairs
walkway towards lift

The Second Passage

The first unit is occupied by the well of the Lower East Stairs, the second is the walkway towards the East Lift

The Third Passage

North Side
  top of Lower East Stairs
walkway towards East Lift
East End
  The East Lift,, slightly to the left (north), call button to right
entrance to East Court
South Side
  north entrance to Coffee at Kelvingrove
wall of above

The Fourth Passage

This is occupied by Coffee at Kelvingrove.

The Fifth (South) Passage

East Side
  2 south entrances to Coffee at Kelvingrove
East End
  entrance to Scottish Art
South Side, Going East
  Gap to guides area
recess to counter where you can arrange for guides, Southeast Stairs behind
2 blank doors
blank wall

To the West of the Main Hall

The three rows of four pillars west of the Main Hall provide five passages leading west, each of which is divided into two sections. Some of these units are occupied by features such as the Lower West Stairs. To aid understanding of this space, we consider each passage in turn, moving away from the Main Hall.

The First (north) Passage

North Side
  recess to statue of Guillermo Pitt, Northwest Stairs behind
blank door
window
West End
  entrance to Scotland's Wildlife
South Side
  rear of Lower West Stairs
walkway towards West Lift

In the middle of this passage is an ornate seat, two opposing quarter circles.

Second Passage

The first unit is occupied by the Lower West Stairs, whilst the second is the walkway past entrances to the West Court. There's a seat on the east side, beside the stairwell.

Third Passage

North Side
  top of Lower West Stairs
walkway past entrances to West Court and West Lift
West End
  entrance to West Court
West lift, slightly to the right (north), call button to your left
South Side
  north entrance to Mini Museum
statue of Elvis Presley

The Fourth Passage

This is occupied by the Mini Museum.

The Fifth (South) Passage

North Side
  2 entrances to Mini Museum
West End
  entrance to Glasgow Stories
South Side
  recess with seat, Southwest Stairs behind
2 blank doors in recess

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