Capital’s concert hall to open up access to huge chunk of its New Town
Edinburgh’s new £45 million concert hall will open up access to a swathe of littleknown New Town squares, lanes, terraces and gardens, its backers have said.
The Impact Centre, which is earmarked for a site behind RBS’S historic branch on St Andrew Square, will be accessible from the north, south, east and west.
New routes will be created to link the complex with the new St James and Register Lanes developments, St Andrew Square, the city’s bus station and Waverley train station.
The vision has emerged in the first exhibition of plans by Chipperfield, the architects masterminding the project, which is being funded by charitable trust Impact Scotland. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s planned 0 Ewan Brown, left, and Alasdair Graham on site new home will boast a 1,000-capacity main arena, along with a 200-seat performance, rehearsal and recording space.
The site behind RBS’S 18th century head office is currently home to a 1960s office block. Work on the new venue, which is being funded by the Scottish and UK governments, is hoped to start in early 2019 and be complete in 2021.
Alasdair Graham, associate director at Chipperfield, said: “We’re trying to create a major public building in a site that is essentially concealed from the streets around it. Our ambition is to make the site as permeable as possible so that neighbouring areas like St Andrew Square, St James and Register Lanes can connect to each other, draw people in and through the site, give more life to the venue, and bring more people to these areas as well.
“The Impact Centre will be visible on the city’s skyline from a few key points, without dominating it in any way, but as you approach it it will disappear. Only once you come into the site will it appear again.”
Impact Scotland chairman Ewan Brown said: “We want this to be a place which is used all day, every day. The city council is very keen we open up the whole area around the site. We seem to be the catalyst for making that happen.”