Russell Institute, 30 Causeyside Street, Paisley

The Russell Institute, built in 1926-7, is a monumental three-storey public building designed by J Steel Maitland with sculpture by Archibald Dawson. It occupies a prominent corner on Causeyside Street and New Street in Paisley. The building is constructed on a polished granite plinth and faced with Blaxter sandstone ashlar cladding supported by a reinforced concrete frame. Bronze window panels are a distinctive feature.

The main facade to Causeyside Street has seven bays, while the facade to New Street has six, with a single corner bay. An angled bay is accessed by steps incorporating two octagonal columns set within the architrave, displaying two enamelled coats of arms. A bronze nameplate is positioned between a bronze sculpture depicting a mother and children. The upper floors and attic are linked vertically by bronze panels, flanked by corniced pilasters supporting an architraved arch with a keystone supporting a gilded bronze angel carrying two babies. The inscription "A DEO SALUS" is carved to the left and right of the angel. The building is finished with a cornice featuring two bronze finials.

Longer elevations feature “pylons” to the outer bays. Three slit windows are present on each floor of the pylons. A fourth bay on the Causeyside Street elevation includes a ground-floor door and a first-floor oriel supported by a stone angel. Ashlar piers between the inner bays at ground level support bronze figures of infants, which rise through the two upper floors to carved brackets supporting cornices and a parapet. Ground-floor windows are of a cross-window design, while the first and second floors are visually connected by bronze bands. The roof is slate, with later dormers added to the Causeyside Street elevation. A return elevation to the west has two pylons with five narrow windows on each floor. The rear elevations expose the concrete frame.

The interior features a double-height, marble-clad entrance hall with a compartmented ceiling. Within the hall is a gallery corridor with a star-cut marble balustrade supported by columns rising from ground-floor pilasters. A white marble staircase ascends through a segmental arch opposite the entrance, with marble-architraved entrances to ground-floor corridors on either side. A semicircular cantilevered balcony projects above the staircase, supported by a large scrolled brown marble bracket. A cast-bronze plaque on the balcony is inscribed with a dedication from Miss Agnes Russell, in memory of her two brothers, Robert and Thomas Russell. The staircase splits into two flights from the second rise, featuring an elaborate Art-Deco, gold-painted metal balustrade with a polished timber handrail. Polished timber benches with scrolled legs, many curved to suit the walls, are positioned on stair landings and other circulation areas. Many original fixtures remain throughout the building.