Magnificent seven vie to revamp Ross Bandstand
● Capital’s new venue is planned to be open to the public throughout the year and would also host signature events
Contenders to design a new outdoor concert arena for Edinburgh in Princes Street Gardens have revealed their competing visions for the £25 million project.
Seven teams from around the world are in the running to replace the historic Ross Bandstand and its run-down amphitheatre.
The various visions include dramatic walkways and roofs around the new arena, along with new visitor centres accessible from Princes Street.
The rival designs are on display at the City Art Centre, where members of the public can deliver their verdicts on their favourites.
However, a panel of experts chaired by the hotel developer who is bankrolling the new “Ross Pavilion” will decide the winner of the international competition, which is due to be announced in August.
The city council has agreed to allow a charitable trust to take over the running of the gardens and raise all the funding for the project. It is hoped work will get under way on the project, which includes a new visitor centre and landscaping improvements to the gardens, by the end of next year.
Architects behind the Shard building in London, the rebuilding of Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh Building, a Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC, a business school in Moscow and a Danish maritime museum are all in contention. Designers based in America, Japan, Norway and Denmark are all in the running for the project, which attracted 125 entries from around the world.
The new arena would be open daily to the public, but is also aimed at hosting everything from intimate shows for several hundred people to the signature events at the Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festivities.
Norman Springford, founder of the Apex Hotels group, has been in talks with the city council for several years about reviving the fortunes of West Princes Street Gardens by replacing the existing bandstand, which opened in 1935.
Mr Springford said: “The revival of one of Edinburgh’s best and most prominent sites is a hugely exciting prospect and we now have seven fascinating design concepts from some of the world’s most indemand creative minds. The concepts will be assessed in detail and the public will get their chance to comment. The jury will interview the teams and review and debate each submission in turn.
“This isn’t just about providing a new concert venue. It’s about enhancing the whole gardens. We recognise it is Edinburgh’s park. It is not for any group of individuals to say, ‘This is what we are having.’ That’s why we are consulting far and wide and will take all the feedback into account.
“I think we’ll get a good winner out of what we’ve got. There is clearly still a long process ahead once the winning design is chosen, including consultations with the heritage sector and the council’s planners, as well as with the designers themselves, but we are hopeful work will be finished in 2019.”
American practice Why has previously worked with Yoko Ono on a public art project for Chicago’s Jackson Park and has recruited actor Alan Cumming to back its bid.
London-based firm Adjaye Associates previously worked on the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Another London architect, William Matthews, who has joined forces with Tokyobased architect Sou Fujimoto, led the design of the Shard.
Page/park is masterminding the revival of Glasgow School of Art’s Macintosh building after it suffered extensive fire damage in May 2014, and helped reopen Kelvingrove Bandstand.
“This isn’t just about providing a new concert venue. It’s about enhancing the whole gardens. We recognise it is Edinburgh’s park”
NORMAN SPRINGFORD