Exchange Financial District Masterplan, Edinburgh
1989 - ongoing

The Exchange Financial District masterplan was won in competition in 1989. The distinctive drum-like form of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, completed in 1995, landmarks the site and forms a set-piece within the urban mass.

The masterplan provides plots for the Conference Centre, seven office developments and a leisure pavilion arranged around three public spaces – Conference Square, Festival Square and the Morrison Street entrance to the conference centre – incorporating pedestrian routes and car-parking facilities.

Reflecting the differing needs of those who work, visit and stay on the site, the TFP scheme accommodates a mixture of uses, including office and conference facilities, retail space, leisure facilities and car parking, as well as integrating the existing Sheraton Hotel.

Drawing on the city's vernacular tradition of terraces and crescents enclosing urban spaces and gardens, the building blocks are set up in a gently sweeping curve that define the site envelope. At the heart of the project is the triangular Conference Square, which forms the main public space for the conference centre. Nearby is a diversity of spaces and walkways that resemble public rooms and corridors within a building. Rather than providing an impersonal expanse with buildings around the edge, TFP's masterplan incorporates elements of contrast and surprise. For example, the angular Sheraton Spa, squeezed into an uncompromisingly small plot of land, provides a startling visual juxtaposition with the circular conference centre. Likewise, the intimate footpath that comprises the crescent opens up into the grand space of Conference Square.

Creating a tangible public domain for pedestrians is central to the masterplan – its success depends on good ground-level connectivity. Within the Exchange, extensive pedestrian and cycle routes form connections with existing streets beyond the site. Conference Square and Festival Square are joined by the crescent, and in this way the conference centre is directly linked to the Sheraton Hotel and Usher Hall, as well as to the West End and the New Town via a new pedestrian bridge and Rutland Square. Internal spaces and the areas around buildings are regarded as equally important.

The driving forces behind the Edinburgh masterplan are historical continuity, the integration of old and new, pedestrian connectivity, and the quest for richness and diversity.

In February 2004, Sir Terry Farrell was appointed as Edinburgh's first ever City Design Champion by The City of Edinburgh Council. The purpose of the role is to promote and uphold urban design standards for Edinburgh of the highest quality. Sir Terry Farrell will be supported by a City Design Group made up of prominent local designers and senior Council officials, which will offer guidance and direction and help identify initiatives for consideration.