Tag Archives: Edinburgh

“Conundrum of architecture”

Posted on November 4, 2021 by David Brussat

Below is a long guest post written by Scottish architecture critic David Black, who lives in Edinburgh. Written in light of controversies in the United States over former President Trump’s effort to align the styles of federal architecture with American … Continue reading →

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Don’t trifle with this building

Posted on January 22, 2021 by David Brussat

Opened in 1823 to a design by Thomas Hamilton, Edinburgh’s Old Royal High School has a stern and foreboding look. But surely a grin can be detected among its colonnades: It has recently dodged the bullet of redevelopment as an … Continue reading →

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Q. of Scots takes Edinburgh

Posted on January 17, 2018 by David Brussat

Here is Margaret, Queen of Scots, entering Edinburgh in 1503, riding with new husband James of Scotland, as seen through the lens of historical novelist Philippa Gregory in her Three Sisters, Three Queens (2016): The day of our entry into … Continue reading →

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Bobby Burns’ Edinburgh

Posted on January 28, 2017 by David Brussat

Aside from a quick nip past Scotland’s poor modernist parliament building, this video of Edinburgh focuses on the delights of the architecture of the Athens of the North. The narrator’s gentle brogue lifts the heart, even becomes a sort of … Continue reading →

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Eviscerating Edinburgh

Posted on November 8, 2015 by David Brussat

The iconic photograph of Edinburgh, above, testifies to what Scotland’s capital and leading city have to lose in a recent rush to development. The United Nations agency that oversees its World Heritage Cities program, UNESCO, has been asked to remove … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Column: Scotland back to its roots or nae

Posted on September 18, 2014 by David Brussat

Scottish voters decide today whether Scotland will be independent or continue its 307-year relationship with Great Britain. Whatever it decides – and the last polls were too close to call – its cultural hegemony over its own appearance will remain … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment