April 19 2024

Richard Murphy Architects, together with conservation specialists Simpson & Brown, have drawn up a revised planning application for a National Centre for Music within the former Royal High School, Edinburgh.

Led by the Royal High School Preservation Trust the project will see the Calton Hill landmark brought back to life following a tortuous planning history that has seen numerous attempts to find a new use for the neo-classical landmark fall by the wayside.

The latest vision calls for a cultural, performance and education space focussed on providing young people with every assistance possible to pursue a music career, while ensuring public access to the Assembly Hall and other reception spaces.

Internal alterations to facilitate this include opening up a sequence of vaults beneath the assembly room to serve as a foyer, this will be accessed by punching through a connecting corridor spanning the full length of the lower ground floor with new wall openings framed in steel.

Flanking pavilions to the east and west are also in line for significant change with matching new openings to enable disabled access. Explaining their overarching approach to these modifications the architects wrote: "The contemporary interventions are treated as new modern finishes to differentiate from the historic fabric and facilitate the visitors understanding of the building."

Works include the reinstatement of the school bell tower, discovered during enabling works last year, potentially as a viewpoint for the east garden and terrace. 

7 Comments

#1 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 19 Apr 2024 at 12:36 PM

The giant vampire squid of Auld Reekie boosterism / Holyrood inspired public funds harvesting takes on a new form -- youth music !?!

At some point questions will be asked.
This cannot go on -- Westminster in a kilt.

#2 Posted by Thin bloke on 19 Apr 2024 at 12:50 PM

#1 Are public funds being used? I thought it was backed by the Dunard fund?

#3 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 19 Apr 2024 at 13:11 PM

Fair point but probably not the whole story.

Sources differ on the actual figures over time -- the amount coming from the Dublin tax avoider would appear to be the major strand of the funding package but not the only one.

Auld Reekie's windfall is to the detriment of the rest of the country -- no matter the funding source it reinforces the perception of the migration of public goods to the east.

Holyrood was not meant to deliver this.

#4 Posted by Steve Jobs on 22 Apr 2024 at 09:03 AM

More word salad from #1 and #3 FBoT. Can you just pass comment without talking in riddles for once?

#5 Posted by Dave on 22 Apr 2024 at 09:34 AM

Aaaaah I was just thinking its been a while since we heard yet another story about something happening to the RHS. What revision is this now (are there enough letters in the alphabet?). Dicky M must be fueling his pension off this project

#6 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 22 Apr 2024 at 09:47 AM

Why should a national music centre be located in Auld Reekie?

Music in that city only requires a compass and a stout set of walking shoes -- 1600KMs worth of effort all in.

You could host the "centre" in their ma's front room but that would be in Leith and the Morningside Crew would want it fumigated first.

Then you have the cost of the build and the running costs going forward -- the Vampire Squid of Holyrood never sleeps.

#7 Posted by KLD on 22 Apr 2024 at 10:34 AM

"Why should a national music centre be located in Auld Reekie?"

As is the case for most things, because someone is willing to pay for that to be the case.

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