Edinburgh Old Town Architecture, Edinburgh Old Town

Old Town Architecture, Edinburgh, Scotland

Start the Old Town tour straight off the train, airport bus, etc. at the Fruitmarket, Edinburgh's leading independent contemporary art gallery, refurbished by a man labelled in the 1990's as 'the most famous living architect in Scotland':
Richard Murphy Architects Fruitmarket Gallery, 29 Market St, 1991 Refurbishment to form new art gallery & fruitmarket café in rectilinear sandstone building at south edge of Waverley Station.
Reiach and Hall Architects Edinburgh Science Centre, Market St, - Follow curving Cockburn St. to the Stills Gallery at No.23
Reiach and Hall Architects Stills Gallery Across the road is the Collective Gallery, then left through North Bridge Arcade up to North Bridge: the Pizza Express is across the road.
Malcolm Fraser Architects Pizza Express, 23 North Bridge, 1997 Competent chain restaurant outlet with curved glass entry and open kitchen to rear. Oak ceiling plane to centre, with pleasant views through rear window - unusual for such a restaurant. One of many Pizza Expresses by Malcolm Fraser in Scotland. Turn onto Royal Mile at Bank Hotel, adjacent to Radisson Edinburgh
Head South to the Royal Mile, at which point turn left and head downhill - noting John Knox's (Calvinist reformer) House, and it's jettied gables above: Malcolm Fraser Architects' Scottish Storytelling Centre at the Netherbow next door Go past the lights (note the gold bars in the cobbles indicating the old city gateway) until you reach the Tolbooth (big clock over road) and turn right into Bakehouse Close.
Calton Gate Former New St Bus Station for Mountgrange: development on site Allan Murray Architects + CDA - main section RHWL + Page\Park Architects - hotel Malcolm Fraser - Cranston St building Zone Architects - Market St Arches
North Holyrood Masterplan south of Canongate, east of St Mary's St Masterplanned by Edinburgh-based architect John Hope who selected mainly young design-led practices
Richard Murphy Architects A+DS offices, Bakehouse Close, 1996 Since May 2005 this has beenn the home of Architecture + Design Scotland, who took over from the RFAC
The famous Old Town 'herringbone pattern' drawing (right), shows the skeletal structure of the High Street. Its backbone follows the glacial crag-and-tail ridge line from the volcanic plug of the Castle rock down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. There are hundreds of vennels or closes running off it; in the past there were more but buildings such as the Crowne Plaza have destroyed many. In the last two decades some have been restored.
Back on the Royal Mile turn right and go down past the Canongate Tolbooth (1591) on the left and Moray House (1625) on the right until you reach Crichton's Close opposite Canongate Kirk (1688, right), set back from the road allowing the tight Royal Mile to expand north forming a seating area.
Calton Road runs parallel with the Royal Mile to the north. Along it are the following:- possible housing by Malcolm Fraser Architects, two Old Town Housing Association blocks, Buchanan Court and a new block behind Whitefoord House.
Richard Murphy Architects Old Town Housing, 112 Canongate, 1999 Private Housing & ground-floor shop. Quirky low-budget housing with a contemporary twist.
Malcolm Fraser Architects Scottish Poetry Library, Crichton's Close, 1999 Sensitive steel-framed addition to another close off the Royal Mile using oak cladding and blue terracotta tiles.
Arcade Architects Crichton's Close Housing
Ungless & Latimer 'rhetorical': Crichton House, offices
Back to Canongate, keep heading down to the East. Flats - Basil Spence Housing
EMBT/RMJM Scotland Ltd. Scottish Parliament, Holyrood, 1999 - 2004 Probably the most exciting building in Edinburgh, certainly the most talked about in decades: designed by Enric Miralles - who sadly died in May 2001 - and RMJM
Michael Hopkins & Partners plc Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, 1999 Trademark Hopkins parachuted into town
At this point the more energetic can trek up Arthur's Seat/Salisbury Crags, visit Malcolm Fraser Architect's Park Rangers pavilion (in park east of the Palace), Benjamin Tindall's Queen's Gallery or the Palace of Holyroodhouse itself (begun by James IV around 1500).
Continue the tour by heading back into town up Holyrood Road. The image top right is an old painting of Arthur's Seat from Charles McKean's excellent guidebook to Edinburgh's architecture through the ages.
Malcolm Fraser Architects Holyrood Education Centre - Park Rangers
Benjamin Tindall Architects Queen's Gallery
Campbell & Arnott Architects The Park housing
CDA Architects Scotsman Newspaper
CDA Architects Holyrood Park House
Allan Murray Architects The Tun, Holyrood Rd, 1999-2001
Allan Murray Architects The Clocktower refurbishment, Holyrood Rd, 2004
E & F McLachlan Old Town Housing Association Housing, Holyrood, 1999
Ungless & Latimer Morgan Court Housing, Holyrood, 1998
Follow Holyrood Road up past St Leonard's Land to Cowgate - past St Cecilia's Hall - and then left up Niddry St. Steps; cross South Bridge.
Old College of Edinburgh University: Court, 1789-, Robert Adam and later William Playfair; Dome, 1879, Rowand Anderson (right).
Round the corner is the Royal Museum of Scotland - 1861, Captain Francis Fowke (entry); restored by Law & Dunbar-Nasmith [LDN] for the last twenty years: contains wonderful long galleried triple-height space (right); redevelopment proposed by Gareth Hoskins Architects Edinburgh University Architecture Department is across the road.
Revolution Club, Chambers St
Rowand Anderson McEwan Hall
Morris + Steedman Architects Edinburgh University Student Centre
Bennetts Associates with Reiach and Hall Architects Edinburgh Informatics
George Square, University buildings: David Hume Tower by Robert Matthew Architect of Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners. Appleton Tower is nearby
LDN Architects Edinburgh Festival Theatre, 13-29 Nicolson St, 1994 Lyric Theatre & Opera House
Benson & Forsyth Museum of Scotland Extension, Chambers St, 1999
Walk North past the National Library of Scotland on the right and Edinburgh City Library on the left.
Past the latter is the former Lothian Regional Headquarters, Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall & Partners, stretching from Victoria St to High St, reportedly - under demolition 2006-07, to become George IV Hotel by Allan Murray Architects
Once on the Lawnmarket - Royal Mile axis - head right: Site of the old Parliament and the Signet Library, St Giles Cathedral (High Kirk), arcade of City Council (Royal Mile mostly arcaded at time of the Enlightenment); at the next lights the Tron Kirk & Hunter Square, part of Page & Park's Royal Mile Project of 1994-95 with sculptures by Randal-Page (water fountain) and Hamilton-Finlay.
Two good eateries here - the simple space (with refined warm-coloured banquette) and basement garden of Banns Vegetarian Restaurant, by architects at Malcolm Fraser Architects, and Chocolate Soup (2000) by Graven Images, slightly spoiled by later add-ons and furniture. Further down Blair St is the famous City Cafe (right).
Oliver Chapman Architects Design Beyond Words, Blair Street, 2002
Old Town Fire, Dec 2002, and subsequent ideas competition, controversies and development proposals.
Richard Murphy Architects Tron Square, Fishmarket Close, 2001-03 People's Palace, Fishmarket Close, 2001 Tron Square Housing
Richard Murphy Architects Cowgate Housing, Cowgate/Fishmarket Close, 2002-06
Allan Murray Architects Tron Nursery, Fishmarket Close, 2001-02
Head towards the Castle; on the right is the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall (1999-2000 home of the Scottish Parliament) - behind which to the north is New College - refurbished by Simpson & Brown 1998-99, and, where the road divides, rises a towering dark spire: welcome to The Hub
Benjamin Tindall Architects The Hub, Castlehill, 1999
Henbest Capper / Sydney Mitchell Ramsey Gardens, Castlehill, 1890's
Having completed the tour a great view can be had from the Castle Esplanade and of course the Castle itself is a fascinating place to discover (there's a restaurant here by RMJM Scotland, 1993), as is the adjacent Edinburgh Camera Obscura. Edinburgh Castle

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Martin Hulse discusses the context for some of the above Edinburgh Old Town buildings: Royal Mile





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