Queen Street is the most complete of all streets first constructed about 250 years ago to make up the New Town so it is crucial that the buildings there are maintained and developed in a sensitive way.
Work has now begun on a £3.5 million redevelopment of the Royal College of Physicians which is one of the most impressive buildings there.
The professional body aims to transform access to the buildings, improve the experience for visitors to the College and create a new public exhibition space to display the College’s historic collections.
As well as improving accessibility to the stunning Great Hall and historic rooms, the development will deliver enhanced conferencing facilities for the 300-seat Conference Centre, one of the largest, tiered auditoria of its kind in Edinburgh.
Taylor & Fraser Ltd, the principal contractor, began work on the project last month.
The Conference Centre offers a complete hub for conferences and events for external clients and has enabled the College to provide physicians with an extensive educational programme since the 1990s.
The redevelopment will deliver:
- A fully accessible entrance through No. 11 Queen Street via a platform lift
- A modern reception area linking to multiple levels in the College via a bespoke lift
- A dedicated public exhibition space to showcase our historic medical and other collections with improved access for the public
- An enhanced conference centre foyer and facilities to deliver world-class conferences in Edinburgh and streamed around the world
Professor Derek Bell, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said: “I am delighted that work is now underway to deliver this exciting project. The work will transform access to the College as well as deliver vastly improved conferencing facilities and an enhanced experience for visitors to the College.
“The College has been based on Queen Street since the 1860s and throughout the years, we have continually adapted our buildings to make the best use of the space available and meet the needs of physicians and other visitors to the College.
“This development will allow us to remain at the forefront of medical education and conferencing for many years to come and ensure that our buildings and our collections are accessible to as wide an audience as possible.”
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