Bristo Square


Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a public space on the estate of the University of Edinburgh. It lies in the south of the city, between George IV Bridge and George Square.
The most prominent landmark on the square is the large McEwan Hall. Other noted buildings on the square include the Reid Concert Hall, Teviot Row House, Potterrow Student Centre, the Informatics Forum, and the Dugald Stewart Building.

History

The square officially opened in 1983 to mark the quatercentenary of the University of Edinburgh. The square was designed by the architectural practice headed by Professor Percy Johnson-Marshall who held the chair of urban design and regional planning at the University. It was originally designed as part of the 1962 plan to create a civic space to replace Bristo Street, realigning Potterrow and Lothian Street in the process. The consulting engineers were Jamieson, MacKay & Partners.
There is a plaque to the local educational campaigner Mary Crudelius in Bristo Square.

Redevelopment

In 2013 the University of Edinburgh announced plans to invest £35m on improvements to the McEwan Hall and the Bristo Square area. Designed by LDN and Buro Happold this scheme is designed to restore the A listed Robert Rowan Anderson building to its former glory whilst enhancing accessibility and increasing capacity by adding in basement seminar rooms. The redevelopment of this square started in April 2015 and was completed in time for the July 2017 graduations.
As part of the redevelopment, a new artwork 'The Next Big Thing…is a Series of Little Things', by Susan Collis has been installed by . The artwork takes the form of a series of bronze circular shapes which runs as a series of drips from McEwan Hall entrance across the square.

Recreational and Edinburgh Festival Fringe use

The Square has been used by traceurs, skateboarders, rollerbladers and bmxers for recreational purposes, however with the redevelopment work this ceased at the end of March 2015 until the square reopened in summer 2017.
It had become customary over the summer months for University of Edinburgh to rent the Square to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for shows and stages. The square was home to the udderBELLY for the several years until 2014. The Udderbelly purple cow tent has since moved to the University's George Square gardens.