We were appointed by the Royal High School Preservation Trust to design and curate the garden that will surround the new National Centre for Music in Edinburgh, working in collaboration with Edinburgh-based landscape architects OPEN.

Set around the great neo-classical Royal High School building on Carlton Hill, which is being repurposed by Richard Murphy Architects, the surrounding garden will be the first major new public garden in the city centre in over 200 years. It will provide residents and visitors with access to this exception site, with its spectacular views and unparalleled landscape, providing a tranquil retreat within this bustling city.

There will be gardens to the west and east of the building that, though distinct in character, will collectively work in harmony to complement each other and create a setting for the architecture that reflects the picturesque tradition of landscape thinking in the early 1800s, made new for the 21st century.

The West Garden has been designed to connect with the wild landscapes that surround the site, complementing its location at the foot of Calton Hill. It will include native trees like Scots pine, birch, rowan and other plants such as bog myrtle, whorled Solomon’s seal and sticky catchfly, native to Scotland.

The garden is envisaged as creating a contrast between the pure classicism of Hamilton’s building and the rugged surrounding landscape, and we are hoping that as we excavate on the site to create accessible paths, we will expose outcrops of basalt rock that can become part of this roughness.

By contrast, the East Garden will be designed as an extensive flower garden and feature a large pergola along the Belvedere wall, one of the original features of the Royal High School building.

A programme of regular events will share knowledge about the gardens as well as other related topics like horticulture skills, biodiversity, and health and wellbeing. Community groups will be invited to use the gardens and learning opportunities focused on conservation and ecology. It will be a place for everyone to access and enjoy.

Work on the gardens will begin in 2025.