Bristo Square

Coordinates: 55°56′42″N 3°11′22″W / 55.94500°N 3.18944°W / 55.94500; -3.18944

Bristo Square
Bristo Square redevelopment underway May 2015.
Bristo Square prior to the 2015 redevelopment work. This view shows 7 Bristo Square by the Modernist architects Robert Steedman (b. 1929) and James Morris (1931-2006).
Bristo Square panorama looking towards Forrest Road showing the square before the 2015 redevelopment.
Teviot building, Bristo Square.

Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is owned by Edinburgh University and acts as a public space between university buildings, notably the McEwan Hall used for graduations and the EUSA student union buildings. It has been commonly used by traceurs, skateboarders, rollerbladers and bmxers for recreational purposes, but with the current redevelopment work this ceased at the end of March 2015.[1] It had become customary over the summer months for Edinburgh University to allow the square to be rented by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for certain shows and stages. The square has been home to the udderBELLY for the last few years up until 2014.[2] The Udderbelly is moving to George Square [3]

The square officially opened in 1983 to mark the quatercentenary of the University of Edinburgh (founded 1583). The square was designed by the architectural practice headed by Prof. Percy Johnson-Marshall (1915-1993) who held the chair of urban design and regional planning at the University of Edinburgh.[4] It was part of the 1962 plan to create a civic space to replace Bristo Street, realigning Potterrow and Lothian Street in the process. Consulting engineers were Jamieson, MacKay & Partners.[5]

There is a plaque to the local educational campaigner Mary Crudelius in Bristo Square.[6]

In 2013 Edinburgh University announced plans to spend £3.4m on improvements to the McEwan Hall and Bristo Square area. Designed by LDN and Buro Happold this scheme is designed to restore the A listed Robert Rowan Anderson building to its former glory whilst enhancing accessibility and increasing capacity.[7][8] The redevelopment of this square started in April 2015. The square has been fenced off and the trees felled.

References

  1. ↑ Whitmore, Hope. "Farewell Bristo Square, the Home of Edinburgh Street Skating". Vice. Vice. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Bristo Square". The Skinny. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Udderbelly to move to new site at George Square in Edinburgh". BBC News. BBC News. 15 Jan 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Development of Bristo Square". Catalogue of The Percy Johnson-Marshall Collection. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Development of Bristo Square". Catalogue of The Percy Johnson-Marshall Collection. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  6. ↑ There are more Edinburgh memorials to remarkable women than you might think, The Scotsman, 6 June 2015
  7. ↑ "University of Edinburgh submit McEwan Hall plans". Urban Realm, July 25, 2013. Urban Realm Ltd. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "McEwan Hall". LDN Architects. Retrieved 26 June 2015.


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