Edinburgh may be famed for its castle, the Fringe, and its riotous Hogmanay celebrations, but the unsung heroes of the city are its sublime design and architecture. With contemporary design haunts and magnificent medieval and classical buildings adorned with intricate stone-carved decorations, the Scottish capital is the perfect blend of the nostalgic and the modern.
Introducing Edinburgh’s Ambitious Architecture
Picture Edinburgh in your mind’s eye, and you’ll summon up a vision of dark and moody sandstone churches and tall townhouses. In fact, the city gathers many of Scotland’s greatest architectural assets into one place. The first structure to catch the eye is Edinburgh Castle, with its flamboyant nips and tucks, baronial towers, and imposing battery – all made from stone hewn from the nearby Craigleith and Slateford quarries.
Move on from the spectacular perch of Castle Rock to the imagination-sparking tombs and monuments of Calton Hill, where you can look out over a procession of spiny towers, tolbooths, and weathered tenements studding the Edinburgh skyline. The city is a hotbed of world-class architecture, and the style of local buildings is quite unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere in the United Kingdom, or even in Europe.
Downtown Edinburgh wears an armor of hard-wearing igneous and metamorphic rock – indeed, the city owes its distinctive character to a dormant volcano that last erupted 340 million years ago. The eroded core of this prehistoric volcano still rises above the city as the green-and-grey ridge of Arthur’s Seat.
For all the geological history in Edinburgh’s bones, there is also a sense of modern drama and future potential. Consider the ambitiously bold St James Quarter project, which saw a longstanding eyesore razed to the ground and an ambitious new architectural icon embedded amidst the nostalgic Georgian architecture of the East End. Or how about Leith, with its ever-changing carousel of restored warehouses and salvaged yards? This is the flavor of an ever-evolving, here-and-now city.
Take an Edinburgh Architecture Walk
Thanks to the hilly terrain, there’s always an element of hard work required to appreciate Edinburgh’s finest pieces of architecture. Start up high on Castle Rock, with a tour around the courtyards and towers of Edinburgh Castle. Little has changed here in architectural terms since the 1920s, but prior to this, a succession of kings and queens toyed with the appearance and layout of the castle, adding fortified gatehouses, memorials, and medieval-inspired towers over the centuries.
At the other end of the spectrum, down the Royal Mile, the Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood is the most exuberant example of modern design in the city. Ruffling feathers when it opened in 2004 – starkly modern, and £374 million over budget – its organic branch-shape was created to complement the surrounding landscape of red cliffs and volcanic green hills. You’ll have to look down on the building from above to fully appreciate the leaf-shaped buildings and grass-roofed porticoes from master architect Enric Miralles.
Next up is the National Museum of Scotland, a hybrid of classical Greco-Roman style and castle-inspired neo-Brutalism, complete with baronial turrets. The centerpiece of this wonderful institution is the light-filled atrium of the Grand Gallery, home to whale bones and a 19th-century lighthouse lens. This enormous glazed hall was inspired by the long-vanished Crystal Palace, built in London as part of the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Experiencing Contemporary Design in Edinburgh
How could a UNESCO-listed city that’s home to the world’s largest arts festival not be a creative hotspot? Edinburgh boasts both historical and contemporary design, with the Old and New Towns brimming with innovative creative spaces. Here are some excellent stops to enjoy.
Scottish Design Exchange
This commendable social enterprise brings modern design ideas right into the heart of the New Town, with a remit to support up-and-coming creatives. Every pound spent goes directly to the creatives themselves, making it a great opportunity to browse and support local designers.
Edinburgh Design School
Now in its tenth year, this independent educational institution has one steadfast guiding principle: to bring pottery back into the mainstream. A packed calendar of ceramics shows and weekend pottery courses attracts a steady stream of visitors to its hub.
Edinburgh Art Festival
A platform for the work of today and tomorrow’s art and design figureheads, this lively art festival is a key part of Edinburgh’s summer celebrations, providing a welcome excuse for galleries, museums, and studios to showcase emerging talent.
More Tips, from Tapestries to Typefaces
You can engage with many of the festival’s creatives year-round. Among the local studios to consider visiting are Dovecot Studios for vintage-inspired tapestries, Edinburgh Printmakers for unique prints, and Jupiter Artland – a summer-only sculpture park located west of the city in the historic grounds of Bonnington House.
How to Get Around: Walk! There are distances to cover, but nothing too onerous, and the more Edinburgh streets and alleys you explore, the more you will see. Just remember to prepare for unpredictable weather. Alternatively, consider renting a bike for a fun way to see the sights.
When to Go: Edinburgh is good for walking any time of the year, though summer offers the lowest chances of rain. For crowd-free streets, May or September are ideal months. For the best photographs, aim for the golden light just before sunset.
