Scottish Provident Building, 7 Donegall Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JH

The Scottish Provident Building is an attached symmetrical multi-bay six-storey over basement office block with an attic storey, built in 1902 to the designs of Young and Mackenzie architects. Constructed in sandstone in a neo-Palladian style, the building is U-shaped on plan with a central bow surmounted by a pedimented block and chamfered corner elevations topped by octagonal domed pavilions. It stands on the west side of Donegall Square, with retail units occupying the ground floor, and was extensively renovated around 2009.

The building has a complex arrangement of pie-ended and hipped natural slate roofs with skylights and rendered and redbrick chimneystacks set behind a balustraded parapet. The parapet features squat panelled piers surmounted by segmental pediments, pedestals and ball finials. Copper cyma recta guttering with lion masks sits at the base of the parapet, resting on a continuous crown cornice.

The seventh floor, three windows wide, is built as a central dentiled pedimented block behind the parapet, corresponding to the central bowed bay. It has a copper raking cornice, copper antefixa at either end and a copper acroter at the apex. The tympanum contains an applied copper coat of arms, while the three round-headed windows have blocked surrounds with keystones and are flanked by panelled squat piers. This pedimented block sits behind a central bowed balustrade parapet with each pedestal surmounted by copper dolphins, and the entire composition is flanked by copper sphinxes on pedestals.

The domed pavilions at either end are octagonal on plan with diminutive round-headed window openings to each side rising from a dentiled cornice. Each pavilion is surmounted by a highly decorative pointed copper dome with scrolled brackets flanked by lion masks and bay-leaf garlands, oeil-de-boeuf corners, fish-scale domical vault and topped by large knops.

The building is constructed of coursed and tooled Giffnock sandstone ashlar walling with elaborate sandstone carvings to the front and side elevations, with redbrick to the rear. Window openings are square-headed with decorative sandstone architrave surrounds and single-pane timber sash windows with ogee horns and plate glass.

The symmetrical front elevation is seventeen windows wide, with the central three windows forming a shallow bow below the pediment and a further single window to either chamfered corner below the pavilions. The second, third and fourth floor windows are each framed by engaged Giant order Corinthian columns on panelled pedestals rising from a continuous dentiled cornice to the first floor while forming the sill course to the second floor. The pedestals are embellished with lion masks to the panels. The columns support a deep architrave, pulvinated frieze and deep modillioned and dentiled crown cornice above.

The central bow is detailed as above but with paired Corinthian columns, while the panelled pedestals depict printing, ropemaking, shipbuilding and spinning in deep carved relief. Over each fourth floor window is a queen's head with festoons and bell-flowers. The fourth floor windows have architrave surrounds, keystones and curved sills flanked by corbels. The third floor windows have architrave surrounds and keystones, moulded sills spanning between columns and are surmounted by decorative foliate carvings. The second floor windows have blocked architrave surrounds resting on a continuous lead-lined cornice.

The first floor has channel-rusticated walling, a plinth course rising from the ground floor cornice and a pulvinated frieze embellished with foliate carvings to the central bow and large heraldic shields between windows. The first floor windows are framed by Ionic panelled pilasters on pedestals with guilloche mouldings and acanthus scrolled brackets supporting dentiled cornices with shallow segmental pediments and foliate tympanums.

The ground floor has glazed retail units to all bays except for the northernmost four windows, flanked by polished rusticated granite pilasters with sandstone Ionic capitals featuring lion masks or winged putti supporting frieze blocks with cartouches and surmounted by a continuous lead-lined dentiled cornice forming the sill course to the first floor. The northernmost four windows are round-headed with blocked architrave surrounds and ancons surmounted by large scrolled brackets and amorini supporting curved cornice at first floor sill level, or forming former balconies. The walling to this section is channel rusticated with alternating fluting and vermiculation, a polished granite plinth course and surmounted by a frieze with continuous festoons.

To the south of the central bow is the principal entrance to the upper floors, with a voussoired round-headed opening formed in Portland stone. It has a cartouche to the keystone, fluted impost course and carved amorini to the spandrels holding a ribbon stating 'Scottish Provident Buildings'. A glazed entrance screen is set within the arch with a later barrel-vaulted glazed steel canopy and steel gates.

The northeast chamfered bay has a glass and iron clock-face at parapet level with a dentiled pediment, flanked by squat pedestals with scrolled brackets and surmounted by segmental pediments and ball finials. The second, third and fourth floors are detailed as per the remaining elevations. An advanced entrance porch is framed by a pair of banded Doric columns supporting an architrave, pulvinated frieze and dentiled cornice. The porch is surmounted by an aedicule having paired Ionic columns rising from a plinth course supporting an open-bed segmental pediment with two heraldic shields to the tympanum. The aedicule houses a figurative marble group depicting 'the beautiful seal' of the Scottish Provident Institution on a block base with applied copper lettering stating 'Scottish / Provident / Institution'. Within the porch is a round-headed arch with ancons depicting Scotia, stiff-leaf capitals rising from marble panelled pilasters and polished granite plinths. A pair of double-leaf panelled and glazed hardwood doors are set within the arched opening, opening onto a pair of nosed marble steps with a mosaic tiled platform within the porch and a further three curved nosed white marble steps flowing onto the pavement.

The southeast chamfered corner is detailed as per the principal elevation with a dentiled and pedimented panel at parapet level, detailed as per the northeast clock, with a carved cartouche bearing the monogram 'SI' and a date plaque reading 'A.1902.D'.

The south side elevation is six windows wide, detailed as per the principal elevation. The rear elevation is abutted by three full-height redbrick projections with gauged brick square-headed window openings having single-pane timber sash windows and masonry sills.

The north side elevation is seven windows wide, detailed as per the principal elevation. To the east end is an advanced elliptical-headed entrance bay with an archivolt head having acanthus and lion mask voussoirs rising from engaged banded Tuscan columns resting on semi-octagonal pedestals and polished granite plinths. A carved panel over the doorcase states 'Scottish / Provident Buildings', flanked by acanthus scrolled brackets supporting a dentiled hood cornice. The rusticated walls extend into the recessed opening, with a pair of replacement panelled timber doors and plain overlight enclosed to the street by decorative wrought-iron railings and a single nosed stone step to the street.

The building occupies the majority of the west side of Donegall Square facing City Hall, with its north side elevation fronting onto Wellington Place.