The Urban Room

In 2004 the City of Edinburgh Council appointed Sir Terry Farrell as its City Design Champion.  Sir Terry stood down from this position in September 2009.   As part of his legacy and with the will and support of the Administration, the Urban Room was realised and opened in June 2010 by the Leader of the Council, Jenny Dawe.

The Urban Room was first mooted as an 'Ideas Pavilion' - a place to interpret and dream of the City.  This developed into the notion of an Urban Room as part of the 12 Challenges Exhibition held at the City Chambers in 2008.  The Exhibition used the Quadrangle as a temporary Urban Room.  Scheduled for a four week run, the Exhibition was in place and enjoyed by many for nearly three months.

Since then there has been a desire to have a permanent resource where the debate about the future of the City could be nurtured.  Here in Waverly Court we have realised the first permanent Urban Room, it is hoped that with time we maybe able to create another urban room elsewhere in the City to engage with an even greater number of citizens, visitors and interested groups.

Why an Urban Room?

We want to have a welcoming place where people can find out about the City and crucially how it will evolve in the future.

It is important that the future of Edinburgh is debated and understood.  The Urban Room will be used to display developments across the City providing a space for debate to inform future decisions.

As it is important that we understand our past to be able to go forward; the Urban Room will be used to display information about the City's past as well as its future.

Who is it for?

It is for everyone, from citizens, businesses and visitors to the City and will be a point of reference where people go to find 'things' out about the development of the City.

How will it be used?

The Urban Room is used ofr a number of events and exhibitions which are free and open to the public.  Please feel free to use the ideas section in the Room to leave your thoughts on topics, issues that you want to see explored explained and debated.

One of its main uses is as a venue for workshops, and as a real working space.

Please give us your thoughts.