The University of Edinburgh has been confirmed as the preferred bidder for the former Scottish Fire and Rescue Service headquarters at Lauriston Place, Edinburgh.
Find out more at
http://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/eca-home/news-events/university-of-edinburgh-to-buy-former-fire-service-headquarters
Have you ever wondered what lies behind the white walls and ceilings of our studios? The preparatory works for the refurbishment of our Main Building require some ceilings at this stage to be stripped back by our contractors Chamic to see the building’s bone structure, and in the basement to access some of the internal organs, as it were (the heating ducts, so these can be re-insulated!)
Below are some photos from behind the wall to show what lies beneath – with thanks to Mike Newsome of Redhills.
In her second article for the ECA website, Collections and Estates Intern, Daisy Lafarge, focuses on how our now iconic Sculpture Court came to be built in 1912-13…
The Sculpture Court was finished in 1913, five years after the Main Building opened
Its reputation as the College’s most iconic feature makes life at ECA without the Sculpture Court difficult to conceive of. And yet details in the earliest prospectuses show that dividing lines, like the white wall currently sealing off the Court’s northern edge, are nothing new to the College’s history.
For the second year running, we are pleased to have ECA students working as interns on our website team. In her first article, Daisy Lafarge – a final year Fine Art MA (Hons) student – introduces us to a series of pieces she’s writing on our historic Sculpture Court.
Anyone walking through the Sculpture Court recently will have found a floor-to-ceiling white wall where they would normally expect to access the Main Building’s north-facing rooms.
This wall is the result of necessary building works to update teaching, research and studio spaces, a project involving a major refurbishment of building services, such as heating and lighting.
If you have never visited ECA, or are a new student here, perhaps you have no knowledge of the elusive space behind the wall, its light-filled studios and views of the castle.
But, for everyone who passes through the space, what the temporary wall invariably throws into focus is the Sculpture Court itself. Continue reading
Word has it that ESALA students are particularly enjoying lectures in their ‘new’ lecture space, the Adam House Theatre, which many Fringe and Festival theatre-goers will have been familiar with over the years. Could the décor be anything to do with this?
The seating area of Adam House Theatre, now hosting student lectures
With the start of semester the south side of the ECA Main Building is bustling with activity as our students return, or start their first year, for semester 1. On the north side, however, behind ‘The Wall’ dividing the building in two for refurbishment, it’s a different matter as works by Chamic continue to prepare the spaces and services for their main refurbishment. Here are a few photos of what it currently looks like on that side of the building:
The works to reconfigure Studio 3 in Minto House into a larger, light-filled studio have now been completed – there’s just the furniture to be arranged ready for architecture students starting back next week after the summer break. A few ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ photos below – spot the difference!
We’ve been excited to see the first steps towards the construction of the wall that’ll mark the divide with the North side of the Main Building whilst the 1st phase of the refurbishment works (till June 2017) take place: scaffolding in the Sculpture Court!
Looking along the scaffolding for The Wall, Sculpture Court
Scaffolding for The Wall in the Sculpture Court, 25 June 2015
The ECA Web team writes:
Professor Chris Breward, Principal of Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), has warmly welcomed staff and students from the School of History of Art to the Lauriston Place campus, following their recent move from Minto House on Chambers Street.
Staff and students at the welcome celebration for colleagues in History of Art