Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Sir Basil Spence, Glover and Ferguson, 1965-1967 (John Hardie Glover, partner in charge; J M Marshall, project architect; Andrew Merrylees, job architect; Ove Arup & Partners, structural consultants; Gilbert Ash, main contractor). 8-storey (including basement and concealed raised attic), rectangular-plan university library in mannered late Modernist style, mounted on stepped podium. Ground falling to rear in reveals basement storey on Buccleuch Place. Horizontally articulated by 4 balconies serving as sun-screens, wrapped around entire structure. Balcony fronts supported on cubic blocks, bands of glazing recessed behind these; parapet cantilevered over top balcony. Reinforced concrete construction on 27-foot grid. Balconies fronted with concrete panels and Portland stone veneer; black polished granite cladding to 2 lower storeys to front and part side elevations. Smooth concrete rectangular structural columns; riven York stone is used as facing on the basement storey and retaining wall of the podium. The window and doorframes are of silver anodised aluminium.

N ELEVATION: double-height portico with rectangular columns bisected by horizontal members running entire length of building. Concrete beamed fascia attached to front of columns separating entrance from mezzanine level. Off-centre main entrance with 2-storey screen of plate glass doors at each end. Pair of deeply inset narrow slit windows, at ground and first floor to left of entrance. Row of inset slit windows, then storey-high plate glass at ground and first floors to right. Podium projects to right accommodating ramp and small flight of stairs, topped by planting troughs.

E, S and W ELEVATIONS: vertical and horizontal concrete panels express structural bays with 6-paned, full-height windows at ground and 1st floors. Narrow vertical slit windows. Service entrance and loading bay, with metal roller shutters and hardwood door to S (rear).

INTERIOR: double-height concourse, with gallery and mezzanine, accommodating book service area. Other rooms and offices, including exhibition room, arranged around concourse with stairs up to 1st floor mezzanine and 2nd floor. Upper part of foyer and exhibition room take up much of 1st floor, the remainder planned as reading rooms and staff offices. Book stack areas to 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors, arranged around circulation core of staircase and 3 lifts. Additional staircases to E and W ends of building, also giving access to lavatories on each floor. Tank rooms and storage space to 6th floor. Technical space, including bindery, strong room, stores, filtration plant and loading bay to basement. Teak finishes to concourse walls, stair handrails and some other spaces. Extensive use of fire-screens of timber slats and wired glass. White beech doors and other linings, in conjunction with plaster surfaces. Foyer paved with quartzite slabs; exhibition room paved in polished granite. Supporting columns are of exposed polished concrete, or plastered. Black steel bookshelves; flexible partitions to upper storeys are wooden panels mounted on black steel uprights.

Statement of Special Interest

A-Group with David Hume Tower (Block A) and David Hume Lecture Block (Block B); William Robertson Building (Block C); Adam Ferguson Building (Block D); George Square Lecture Theatre (Block E) (see separate list descriptions). This library is a major work of Sir Basil Spence, Glover and Ferguson and is one of the key Scottish buildings of the mid-1960s. It was the practice's largest building in Edinburgh at the time and received a RIBA award in 1968 and a Civic Trust Commendation in 1969.

John Hardie Glover claimed a functionalist agenda and user/designer collaboration generated the design, with the local authority's height restriction and the curtilage of the site dictating the massing. However, aesthetics were clearly very important. Thus the mannerisms, such as the horizontal members projecting through the portico and the fascia, which, although containing electric strip lights, is mainly to balance the proportion but also does much to block out natural light on the 1st floor. Similarly, there is no functional need for balconies as sun-screens on every elevation. By such means the bulk of the building (the footprint is one acre) was successfully disguised by the suppression of vertical elements on the upper storeys.

The architects' interest in the sensual properties of the materials, which are of exceptionally high quality, both externally and internally, can be clearly seen. The stairs and landings were originally covered with ribbed rubber, and other floors in black and grey linoleum or carpet tiles. The original black metal shelving system was designed by the architects along with the manufacturers, as were some of the tables and study benches. The architects selected other furniture, fabrics and door furniture, of mainly Scandinavian design. The design formula was repeated by the same team of architects, librarian and services consultants for the Library at University College Dublin (1970-72).

Basil Spence's University development plan of 1955 was generated around the pivotal hub of the Library site, after it was chosen as the quietest location within the central development area. Spence received the commission for the Library around this time, although work did not commence for a decade. The University's requirement, by that time, was for 2,500 reader places, 2 million books and 114 staff. Expansion plans allowed for a possible extension to the S.

The Main Library is in good condition, both externally and internally (2004), although there have been changes to the interior. The original island service desk has been removed and replaced with a linear counter at the rear of the concourse. The original turnstile and staff desk arrangement has been changed and the pebble-filled recessions in the foyer removed. A single flight of flying stairs connecting the former current periodicals room on the ground floor and the former statistical reference room on the first floor has been removed and new partitions installed due to a change of use. A cafeteria has been installed in the basement and newer partitions on the 5th floor have been installed to create reception and reading rooms for Special Collections. In the summer of 2004 the first floor committee room and office suite and the interiors of the administrative rooms to the S of the ground floor were stripped out and new partitions installed. The original decorative scheme has not been adhered to in the maintenance of paintwork and floor coverings. Nevertheless, most of the original joinery and wall linings are intact. The Exhibition Room and Drummond Room, on the ground floor, are still in original condition. On the first floor, the suite containing staff common room, coffee room and kitchen, retain original fixtures and fittings. A large quantity of the furniture in the building is original, although moved to different locations.

Statutory address updated (2015). Previously listed as '30 George Square, University of Edinburgh, Main Library'.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images