50 YEARBOOK 2026 from a ‘des res’ to some of the highest value offices in the country in the late 20th century. However, as modern work practices changed, their suitability declined. Firms moved to new purpose-built offices with better IT capabilities. Even the historic Rutland Hotel on the east side was contemplating closure. In 1994, a speculative developer proposed a ‘gut-and-stuff’ scheme on one side of the square. Although, astonishingly so, it was granted planning and listed building consent, such was the concern about this radical change that the Secretary of State for Scotland intervened. The National Trust for Scotland then took over occupation, reinforcing the momentum back to adaptive reuse. This shifted the speculative thinking in other parts of the square. The process of adaptive transformation was becoming well ingrained in the politics of planning. The Old Town has perhaps seen the most change and it would take a book to outline its transformation over the centuries. In the 19th century, the decay was such that under the auspices of various housing acts, slum clearances took place without any idea of slum renewal. Large chunks of the ancient fabric were demolished. Indeed, there are less than a dozen mediaeval properties left in the Old Town. The scope for the appropriation of ruins and urban fragments was high. In some instances, small scale interventions added to the layering of urban history. However, in others, large developments were crowbarred into the dense grain with the resulting conflict between modern floorplate requirements and the narrow feu widths and vertical emphasis of the historic townscape. The design of a new hotel with its pastiche mix of mediaeval and baronial elements was a contemporary architectural attempt to mimic the process of sedimentation and the gradual accumulation of layers of history, but without the benefit of time. Highly controversial then, it still divides opinion. Edinburgh is one of the more interesting cities to study from the perspective of adaptive reuse. It can be seen on both large and small scales. It is both additive and destructive. It illustrates so well the sedimentation and layering of interventions that have enriched spaces and buildings, not to the mention the community. But it also illustrates how the accumulative nature of putting old and new together can be a threat equally. In the worst cases the accumulation can prevent the appreciation of the original and cast doubt on the authenticity of everything. Terry Levinthal is Director of Edinburgh World Heritage (www.ewh.org.uk) The design for a new hotel in the late 1980s to fill an old gap-site at 80 High Street reflected a change in attitude to heritage. Completed in 1990, the building’s mix of mediaeval and baronial details on a concrete frame still divides opinion. (Image: Cockburn Association)
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