Publication Account

Date 1997

Event ID 1019408

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Publication Account

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1019408

One of the most sumptuous building projects of the postwar period. A self-rebuilding scheme by one of the country's oldest and most prestigious private clubs. Following the removal of the existing 19th century building (by Burn), a reinforced-concrete structure of five storeys and basement was erected, with shops at the front, a grand stair-hall at the centre and a four-storey bedroom tower at the rear. The irregularly-windowed front facade, in Rubislaw granite, incorporates a first-floor terrace to conform to the 1967 Princes Street Panel Report formular of bi-level shopping. Internally, a quietly luxurious atmosphere was created through use of hessian wall finishes and re-used elements of the old building, including both furniture and an entire dining room reconstructed out of Lorimer panelling. (Fig. 4.22).

Information from 'Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75', (1997).