Date: 28 May 09
Author: Caroline Ednie, Web Editor
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Towards a New Edinburgh is a final year M.Arch Studio led by practitioners Alan Dunlop & Bruce Newlands at The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture.
In 2009, students were challenged to re-evaluate the historic nature of The City of Edinburgh, particularly within the defined UNESCO world heritage area. As Scotland's capital, we all have an interest in protecting its future - a future where the world renowned banking sector, credit crisis and consequent decline in tourism will impact on the city and where issues of housing, care, drug use and employment will require inventive solutions.
The unit confronted the idea that in order to respect the built heritage of Edinburgh and the UNESCO World Heritage accreditation, new replicas of old buildings must be built. The students explored attitudes to conservation & urban regeneration through precedent; comparison with other European cities; and a study of contemporary urban architecture.
Students carried out a detailed analysis of the historic context and became knowledgeable in the city development framework policies and current design proposals for Edinburgh. From this they prepared their own projects and a working manifesto.
A series of visiting critics were involved in regular reviews and the students organised lectures to look at the nature of architectural innovation in Scotland.
Manifesto
”...This profusion of eccentricities, this dream in masonry and living rock is not a drop scene in theatre, but a city on the world of reality...” Robert Louis Stevenson
Edinburgh is located on the east coast of Scotland and is the second largest city within Scotland. It is Scotland's capital city and home to the Scottish Parliament. The historical development of Edinburgh shows a city that has grown and adapted to the needs of its occupants, often in bold and innovative ways, most notably the creation of a series of new towns adjacent the ancient original city.
The city of Edinburgh began in 1074 with the fortification of the topographical castle rock which had been home to fortifications since 900BC and is thought to be one of the longest occupied sites within Scotland. The High Street developed along the ridge of the crag and tail which the castle is located, and was developed as a street that had no roads. Only closes and wynds provided access. This was done as a means of wind management which meant the High Street became a more pleasant environment to be in.
The High Street was 100 foot wide and became the living room for the city. It was here that the cities’ philosophers and intellectuals met to discuss their ideas and as such became the birth place of the Scottish Enlightenment. As the street frontage on the main thoroughfare was limited the city expanded in a herringbone pattern down the closes and wynds.
Princes Street Gardens were once home to a body of water called the Nor Loch. It was created in 1460 to strengthen the castle’s defense. It began as a picturesque haven where residents of Edinburgh would boat in the summer and skate in the winter and was also a place to trial witches. Over the years it became a dumping ground for Edinburgh and the water became infested. The resulting pollution was said to give hallucinations to the residents of the Old Town. Nor Loch was eventually drained in 1759 when the city began construction of the New Town and became a garden for the residents of Edinburgh.
Construction of Edinburgh’s New Town began in 1760’s and was done so because of a requirement for new housing for the residents of Edinburgh. The Old Town had become known as the slums due to their deteriorating and very cramped conditions. The city looked to the flat farm land to the north as a place to build a new town. The New Town was laid out in a simple grid iron arrangement and the buildings were constructed in a classical style which was very different to the Old Town.
North Bridge was constructed to connect the Old Town to the New Town and was the only connection to the New Town until the mound became a passage as well. The mound developed as waste gathered from the construction of the New Town but soon became used as a means of connecting the old and new. Up until this stage the High Street had been somewhat of an island between the location of the New Town in the north; and the university and the meadows to the south. You had to walk up and down small closes to get access. The South bridge was constructed as a means of bridging the divide to the south of the High Street. It was constructed as an inhabited bridge where the vaults that were used to construct it became home to retailers and workshops. It was once home to some of the most expensive rental land in Europe.
Edinburgh’s Cockburn and Jeffery Street’s were created to provide better access from the High Street to the train station. It was seen as a bold move as it resulted in the demolition of many tenements and the loss of closes. Edinburgh can be viewed as a city with a split personality; a light and a dark side. The New Town with perfect proportions could be seen as the light side; and the Old Town with dark winding closes and streets as the dark side. Edinburgh is home to a number of myths and legends which highlight this fact.
The city of Edinburgh gained UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1995 and was granted for the contrast of the antique charm of the Old Town and the formal grandeur of the New Town. UNESCO is tasked with the preservation of the Edinburgh cityscape although it would appear that it is more concerned with the preservation of the cities aesthetic look. Edinburgh has not developed this way before; it has not concerned itself with the preservation of a previous aesthetic look but has developed due to the way in which people have chosen to live their lives.
Edinburgh Now?
Edinburgh is a city which attracts over a million visitors a year, many of whom come to visit one of the cities international festivals, such as the Fringe or Military Tattoo. Edinburgh is a city which relies on its tourism and spending of disposable income. As such Edinburgh needs to once again provide the innovation it is famous for. Edinburgh is also the financial centre for Scotland with many headquarters situated in prominent sites throughout the city, most notably the Royal Bank of Scotland. The UK, as well as the rest of the world, is currently experiencing a recession. Along with a recession comes the fear of unemployment, eviction notices, depression and worry…
What happens to Edinburgh when the money runs out?
Towards a New Edinburgh
Historically Edinburgh has been a self sufficient city contained within the boundary walls. Trading took place up and down the Royal Mile and along the various closes that feed off the High Street including Fleshmarket Close, Fishmarket Close, Old Brewers Close, Bakehouse Close, and Sugarhouse Close.
The presence of Farming and local food production was obviously a key theme of living and trading within the city walls and even the New Town. It was the late 19th, early 20th century that these were finally pushed to the outskirts of the city. Residents originally lived amongst orchards and allotment spaces in the New Town that were used by the local nursery men. Edinburgh provided for its people, namely in the creation of the Nor Loch for drinking water.
Edinburgh has set a precedent of self sufficiency that has been lost with the commercial sprawl on the city. Returning Edinburgh to a self sufficient city will aid several issues that are key in the world at present. The financial and climate crisis can be reduced by focussing back on local businesses of local produce, namely food. The pedestrianisation of the Royal Mile will be the first step to recreate the once vibrant market place. Retaining or reinstating all the closes and wynds to and from the High Street as well as the creation of links between the Old and New Towns will aid successful local food production.
This will create a local food economy that reduces the demand on supermarkets based at the outskirts of cities.
The use of an additional tram route, circumnavigating the Old Town will help reduce the carbon footprint of commuters and bring in people from the periphery to take advantage of the local food production as well as general amenities for live, work and play. With rising fuel costs, this will also ease the financial problems associated with owning, and parking, a car in the city centre.
The self sufficiency of Edinburgh also resulted in a densely packed and socially mixed society. The creation of the New Town drew the elite outwards leaving the poor in the Old Town which soon became the slums. Patrick Geddes' influence reinstated a mixed community in the Old Town in the 1890s. Since, the dominance of tourism and education in the area has resulted in a largely student and irregular society.
Currently, Edinburgh is victim to an excess of social problems. These include 3500 drug users, an increasingly ageing population, and lack of affordable housing (of which the government propose 5000 new homes each year until 2015). As the economy in Edinburgh deteriorates there is a foreseeable need for social services. Providing facilities for the vulnerable within the city centre, rather than the outskirts of town will ensure that the problems are tackled head on.
Edinburgh’s tourism generates 9.7% of all employment making this one of the main economic contributors to the city. The main tourist attractions are undoubtedly the festivals, the castle and the Royal Mile itself. The remainder of the Old Town, the New Town and even the New Scottish Parliament Building however are neglected. This is not helped by the amount of ‘tartan tat’ shops located along the length of the Royal Mile which cheapen the overall quality of the Royal Mile and as such prevent locals from visiting.
By expanding on Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s historical traditions in a respectful and interesting way through for example the contemporary development of the textile industry, the encouragement of micro breweries, rethinking a unique setting for the Military Tattoo and reviving the film festival by providing a cultural centre & external setting for events; Edinburgh will become a sustainable tourist base for both locals and visitors generating a yearlong income. Spreading the tourist centre beyond the Royal Mile will also encourage visitors to explore both Old and New Towns as well as Princes Street Gardens.
Edinburgh has over 1500 Ha of open space which equates to 32.7m2 per person. In comparison, London has only 20.5m2 per person. Historically open spaces such as the Grassmarket, Princes Street Gardens and Queen Street Gardens have been used for music evenings, orchards, markets and recreational spaces. Somewhere in the shift of populous leaving the town centre, Edinburgh’s open space has become underused and undervalued often functioning as nothing more than a lunch spot in peak season.
A successful precedent is the reinvention of the Grassmarket as a cultural space with its bars, cafes, nightlife and festival venue, extending its use into the evening beyond daylight hours. Similarly we aim to fully exploit Edinburgh’s forgotten asset: open space and gardens. It needs to perform all year round in a northern climate; giving Edinburgh’s resident community and tourists an escapism from financial woes inhabiting and enjoying what is theirs; Edinburgh’s open space and gardens.
There has been a railway station in the Waverley Valley for over 150 years, during which time the surrounding urban fabric had been altered and changed. The site looks to many of Edinburgh's most characteristic views and structures, and is in an important position to bridge the differing urban grains of the Old and New Towns. This importance has now been forgotten. By redesigning the station to reconnect the Old and New towns as well as define views of the city, a strong sense of arrival in Scotland's Capital city will be achieved.
To read about the project in full click on the following link: www.towardsanewedinburgh.co.uk
Images: The Scott Sutherland School of Architecture + Built Environment
Scott Sutherland Degree Show
13 June - 26 June 09, Scott Sutherland School of Architecture & Built Environment, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen
