The building was constructed at the beginning of this century as a fruit and vegetable market immediately next to the Waverley railway station. It has a steel frame structure with timber floors and stone external walls. Converted into an art gallery in the 1970s, it was closed again in 1990. The main problems of its use were the restricted height of the ceiling on the upper floor; the lack of natural light in the exhibition spaces; and the fact that the only access between floors was via fire-escape stairs. The new design sought to tackle these problems by means of three fundamental architectural changes.