THE Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and IMPACT Scotland, the charity which is building the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s new headquarters, have signalled that they are prepared to consult and co-operate on the building of the new £40 million concert hall in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
The National reported at the weekend that a London-based consultancy had been appointed to run the design competition for the new hall, which is in the middle of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site, and Colander Associates will continue to organise the competition. Having been erroneously informed that the RIAS had not been consulted about the competition, The National reported that assertion in good faith, but the RIAS has now withdrawn that claim.
Architects did tell The National about concerns that the competition might not comply with Scots Law, but both the RIAS and IMPACT Scotland are confident the law – which was altered to incorporate European Union directives in April – will be followed.
The trustees of IMPACT Scotland, who include Dr Carol Colburn Grigor, the American-born philanthropist and ex-concert pianist whose family trust, the Dunard Fund, is contributing hugely to the project, have told Colander Associates to prepare a two-stage contest for which submissions must be made by January 13.
After a top-level meeting between the two organisations, the RIAS and IMPACT Scotland issued this joint statement: “Following The National’s coverage on Saturday, December 17, representatives of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) have met with IMPACT Scotland. RIAS confirms that in early May, shortly after the introduction of new procurement legislation for Scotland in April 2016, the organisation did receive an approach from IMPACT Scotland inviting it to confirm RIAS’s interest in being considered as competition manager to lead the selection of a design team for the new Edinburgh concert hall. It was RIAS’s error not to link this inquiry with last month’s launch of the project. May was an exceptionally busy time for RIAS Consultancy providing support to its members on a range of projects and changes to the law and it was not able to take on further commissions.
“We are pleased to confirm that IMPACT Scotland and RIAS are now working together towards achieving a successful competition for this project, which will provide a new home for the SCO, an all-day venue for the Edinburgh International Festival and a facility for performing artists.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here