Stewart's Melville College, Edinburgh
Performing Arts Centre
Simpson & Brown's competition-winning design for work at Stewart's Melville College in Edinburgh proposed major alterations to the assembly hall within David Rhind's A-Listed Old College building (1849) to provide a multipurpose venue for school assemblies, drama productions, chamber concerts and other public events.
Originally an open courtyard for children's play, the assembly hall had been subject to many former alterations. The courtyard was roofed over 1906 to form a gymnasium which was subsequently divided with glazed partitions to provide a dining hall. In 1972 the hall was re-roofed and the partitions were removed. As part of the alterations the floor of the hall was lowered by two metres to improve the proportions, sightlines and acoustics in what was previously a long, narrow and low space. The new volume is capable of being configured in a number of ways using power-operated retractable seating, demountable staging, and acoustic partitioning to suit varying performance modes. New sound, lighting and ventilation systems have also been installed.
