View onto the corner of the library from the North West with the Meadows visible in the background.

Description View onto the corner of the library from the North West with the Meadows visible in the background.

Date 27/5/1992

Catalogue Number B 70881

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 716109

Scope and Content The Main Library from the north-west, University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh George Square was selected for the extension of the University of Edinburgh in the late 1940s. Several large new buildings and towers were constructed during the 1960s, to designs by the following architects: Sir Basil Spence, Glover & Ferguson with Andrew Merrylees (Main Library); Robert Matthew Johnson-Marshall & Partners (David Hume Tower, William Robertson Building, Adam Ferguson Building and the George Square Theatre); and Alan Reiach, Eric Hall & Partners (Appleton Tower). This shows the library, built 1965-7, an eight-storeyed Modern building with prominent balconies designed to shade the books and users within from harsh sunlight, rather than for recreation. The base storey is faced in York stone, and the balconies faced with Portland stone. Access is via a deck level reached by the steps visible (centre). The library was designed to hold two million books, most of which are on open access, and to serve an academic population of 5,000-6,000 students. The interior features a double-height entrance hall for dealing with books going in and out of the library, plus special sections for private study and computer use. This building has been selected as one of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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