City lights

Phase One now open as St James Quarter lights up the east end in spectacular fashion

FOR ST JAMES QUARTER’S debut photoshoot more than 500 light fixtures were placed around the ribbon W Hotel building with accompanying projections. A soundtrack featured the work of local sound designer, Keith Fortune. Senior Drum Major, Mick Hay from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, took centre stage 55m metres from the ground, conducting the soundtrack with the unmistakable sounds of the drums, as lasers of light travelled across the city in all directions.

Rochelle Weir, Brand and Marketing Director at St James Quarter, said: “We wanted to bring this feeling to life, connecting with other landmarks, businesses, and partners across the city to mark our opening and cement our place on the iconic Edinburgh skyline.

“Our phase one opening is a significant moment in Edinburgh’s history, and we’re incredibly excited for the people of Edinburgh and beyond to see what lies behind the Quarter. The light display was just the beginning.”

The final crane came down only a month or so before the opening after five years as part of our city skyline. There were at one stage 13 cranes working on the project and the red lights from the cranes created their own lightshow before the development was completed. It took 17,378 tonnes of steel and an estimated 2.835 million working hours to create the new destination.

St James Quarter is Edinburgh’s largest development in a generation. A new 1.7 million sq ft masterplan in urban placemaking, it comprises 850,000 square feet of retail space. The development is designed to complement the luxury shopping at Harvey Nichols, on Multrees Walk.

Completing the city centre’s retail circuit, it will also be home to John Lewis, Everyman Cinema, a mix of new restaurants, cafés and bars, Scotland’s first W Hotel – W Edinburgh. The hotel has 244 stylish guestrooms, a destination bar, outdoor terrace, signature restaurant, chef’s table, and an AWAY® Spa, luxury aparthotel brand Roomzzz, with 75 rooms.

New Eidyn residences will provide 152 premium apartments with “exceptional amenities”, by developers Native Land, nine new public squares and 1,600 car parking spaces.