Description

Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners 1965-1967 (Blyth & Blyth, structural engineers; Crudens, contractors). 4-storey and basement, rectangular-plan, linear arts faculty building, forming part of university faculty group in Modernist style, set on stepped concrete podium; 2 projecting wings to S at sub-podium level. Reinforced concrete construction with brick infill. York stone slab cladding, roughcast render to sub-podium frontages onto Buccleuch Place. Boarded ceilings to shallow loggia surrounding the building.

N (GEORGE SQUARE) ELEVATION: 9 structural bays; pilotis supporting overhanging upper floors. Ground floor wall mostly blind but for narrow strip of glazing above head height; porches at each end. Recessed main entrance, off-centre left elevation with storey-high fixed windows and glazed doors in timber frame. Horizontal bands of timber-framed windows wrapped around the building to upper floors. S ELEVATION: large ground floor windows in horizontal timber frame and 2 ashlar base courses. Basement level windows opening onto garden court; sub-podium wings contain doors onto Buccleuch Place.

INTERIOR: ground floor circulation through centre of building with door at each end; classrooms to S; lavatories to N. Pair of linked corridors running the length of the building to upper floors with staff offices off corridors. Demountable storage walls, intended to facilitate flexible office arrangement; departments arranged vertically. Painted timber joinery and plaster walls throughout. Internal ramp to sub-podium level gives access to refectory and other faculty buildings. Part of the basement is given over to underground car park.

Statement of Interest

A-Group with David Hume Tower (Block A) and David Hume Lecture Block (Block B); William Robertson Building (Block C); George Square Theatre (Block E); Edinburgh University Library (see separate list descriptions). (Also see David Hume Tower list description for full details of the commission and Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall's involvement. The David Hume Tower listing also includes a full description of the stepped podium.)

The Arts Faculty group is one of the key monuments of Scottish Modernism and represents both the aspirations of the nation for its post-war Higher Education system and the ideals of some of Scotland's premier architects. Since then, the David Hume Tower has become one of the city's landmarks and, along with the Appleton Tower (see separate listing), a distinctive feature on the skyline. The architecture is of a very high standard of design and execution and the materials, especially in the tower, are of exceptional quality.

The Adam Ferguson Building was originally conceived as a tutorial building containing classrooms and staff offices, most rooms have been refurbished, but many original features, including joinery, remain. The light well/ garden spaces on the top floor have been sacrificed to create useable space (June 2004). Finishing materials and fittings are of a lower quality than those used for the David Hume Tower.

Extension to building with additional storey and pavilion to Buccleuch Place (circa 2008-2010).

Statutory address updated (2015). Previously listed as '36 George Square, University of Edinburgh, Arts Faculty, Adam Ferguson (Block D)'.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17803202

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
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  Old House Care and Repair
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  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)