‘Film temple’ vision revealed after height of the building is cut down
Radical plans to create a “temple of film” in Edinburgh city centre have been scaled back in height as it emerged that the cost of the project had soared by £10 million in the space of nine months.
A proposed new home for the Filmhouse cinema and the Edinburgh International Film Festival has been reduced in height by two storeys to bring it into line with a neighbouring office block as part of a move to secure planning permission for the project, which will have less office space than previously planned and a scaled-back space for events and conferences.
However, key elements of the building, which is still envisaged to be taller than the neighbouring Sheraton Grand Hotel and the Usher Hall, are being retained under plans lodged with the city council today.
And a previous time table which envisaged work getting underway in 2023 and being completed in 2025 is being kept in place, despite the impact of the coronvirus pandemic on the Scottish cultural sector and the increased price tag for the nine -storey complex.
The new Film house, six storeys of which will be above ground, and expected to transform Festival Square, off Lothian Road, is described as “a genuine once in a generation opportunity to create an inspirational and accessible temple for film culture in the heart of Edinburgh for the people of Edinburgh”.
A fundraising drive is expected to be triggered next summer if planning permission is secured by then for the £60 million project, which is said to have risen in cost as detailed designs have been drawn this year.
The Centre for the Moving Image, which is behind the project, proposes redesigning and taking over the management of the little-used square in partnership with local businesses and other cultural organisations.
The facilities at the“New Filmhouse” include a cafe-bar which will spill out onto Festival Square, a glass-fronted restaurant boasting views of Edinburgh Castle, and a roof terrace which will host regular open-air film sceenings and will be open to the public all year round.
Predicted to attract 800,000 visitors a year, more than double the Filmhouse’s usual numbers, the building will feature five underground cinema screens, a studio theatre which can also be used to show films, stage exhibitions and live performances, and a 180-capacity event and conference space.
The five main screens will boast a total capacity of 828, compared to 455 in its existing home, a former church on Lothian Road, development of which has been ruled out.
Project architect Richard Murphy, who is also working on plans to convert the former Royal High School into a new home for a music school, said: "I don’t have any apology to make for the height of this building.
"Height tends to be a dirty word in Edinburgh, but this is a public building, not a block of flats or offices.
"I personally think that public buildings tend to be more prominent than everyday buildings for housing and offices.”