Comments on: Why is Edinburgh Airport so un-Scottish?

By: Steven Rhodes

Steven Rhodes — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:01:18 +0000

It’s an airport. Doomed to be in a flat place, distant from the city centre and lacking any character whatsoever. Schiphol isn’t Dutch, JFK bears nothing of Manhattan and Dublin is not a Dubliner. The only airport I can think of with any regional or national character is Barcelona. But only because it is a temple of design and Barcelona is a city of design. The famous chair is not Catalan although, to me, the cantilevered facade is distinctly Iberian.

A mission to make Edinburgh airport ‘more Scots’ would, I fear, only descend into a kitsch salmagundy of tartan and shortbread. If you want to start from scratch with a new one re-built on Scottish lines, however, the cautionary tale of the Scottish Parliament looms.

By: Iain

Iain — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 23:56:24 +0000

Scottish Enlightment was 18 Century

By: David Lloyd Mitchell

David Lloyd Mitchell — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 10:04:17 +0000

Compare this experience with walking out of Waverely stationin Edinburgh. As you walk up the ramp you catch your first proper sight of the castle, the Scott Monument and the galleries on the mound. you can hear the sound of pipers playing next to Waverley market, you are most definitely in Scotland!

Most of the iconic structures in central Edinburgh with the obvious exception of the castle were built in the 19th century, Scott Monument, Mound, Princes St Gardens and Waterloo Place etc. This was in the middle of the Scottish enlightenment when Scotland was the envy of the world and pioneering economics, mathematics, philosophy and the arts. This enthusiasm and drive created a narrative that is reflected in the architecture of the city. A sense of immense civic pride that can only be matched by great cities like Paris.

I think the airport issue is a wider one, most UK airports have a blandness of design and an economy of decoration.