Potterrow Student Centre

55°56′46″N 3°11′17″W

Potterrow Student Centre
Potterrow in 2018
Alternative names	Potterrow Mandela Centre
General information
Type	Students' union building
Address	Bristo Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9AL
Completed	1973
Owner	University of Edinburgh
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Morris and Steedman

The Potterrow Mandela Centre or Potterrow Student Centre is operated by Edinburgh University Students' Association in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Site and architecture

The name "Potterrow" recalls a medieval suburb which stood outside the town walls. Its Victorian buildings and street layout disappeared when the university demolished the area for redevelopment in the mid-1960s.^[1] With its distinctive large Plexiglas dome, the building was designed by architects Morris and Steedman and completed in 1973.^[2] The centre was refurbished in 2012.^[3]

Use

Potterrow contains a variety of student entertainment and support services including a shop, a bank, two cafés, Edinburgh's largest nightclub, the university's Chaplaincy, The Advice Place, and the main EUSA offices.^[4] In 1986, students voted to rename the centre in honour of imprisoned anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.^[5]

During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, the building is used as a comedy venue under the name Pleasance Dome with five performing spaces, operated by the Pleasance Theatre Trust.^[6]

Gallery

• 
  Potterrow as the 'Pleasance Dome' during the 2018 Fringe Festival
• 
  Interior and dome in 2014 following renovations
• 
  The University Chaplaincy in 2017
• 
  Festival Fringe interior in 2006

References

1. "Lost Edinburgh: Bristo Street". www.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
2. "Potterrow Development Design and Access Report" (PDF). LDN Architects. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
3. "Potterrow Dome Courtyard". Graham. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
4. Edinburgh University Students' Association, George Square and Potterrow
5. "Nelson Mandela British Honours List". Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives. 23 June 2018.
6. "About Us | Pleasance Edinburgh | Festival, Fringe, Theatre, Comedy, ed Fringe". Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2011.