Loretto School, Edinburgh

In 1999, Loretto took possession of its new building - a traditional library and an information technology department equipped with a computer system which is the hub of their campus network.

Simpson & Brown have worked with the school for many years and the building of the library is the latest stage in an ongoing programme of repairs, alterations and additions to a stock of mainly traditional buildings, built around the two original centres at Loretto House and Pinkie House. The new building takes its form, character and ochre colour from the surrounding school buildings, some 18th century and some by Robert Lorimer. The new library is so placed as to divide one of the former gardens of Loretto House into two distinct external spaces, each of a different character. The outer court contains the entrance to the library, in a mainly hard landscape with mature trees, in which the school's tradition of the 'sacred circle' has been restated. The inner court offers a more peaceful setting for the two-storey reading room, with views out to the grassy area known as 'The Park'.