Victoria Quay, Edinburgh
Victoria Quay (VQ) (Cidhe Bhictòria in Scottish Gaelic) is a Scottish Government building situated in Leith, Edinburgh. In length a few feet short of the length of the RMS Titanic, it was conceived by Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall, and there are some prominent nods to naval architecture in the design. Its construction began in 1993, and it was officially opened by the Queen on Monday 1 July 1996. Civil servants began moving offices there in phases from autumn 1995.
The building was set on redeveloped dockland and housed parts of what was then known as the Scottish Office. With the advent of parliamentary devolution in 1999, these offices became part of the then Scottish Executive, now the Scottish Government. 2,200 civil servants work at Victoria Quay, making it the Scottish Government's largest building in terms of size and occupation.
This building launched Leith's regeneration programme proper. New luxury flats, converted bond warehouses, bistros, bars, and restaurants followed. This regeneration is continuing today, with high-rise construction work on reclaimed dockland just a few hundred metres behind Ocean Terminal, a signature shopping centre which opened in 2001, encouraged by demand from the 2,000 civil servants working at Victoria Quay, as well as from local people.
Until Victoria Quay opened, most of these official posts were at New St. Andrew's House (NSAH) on James Craig Walk, Jeffrey Street and Brandon Street in central Edinburgh. New St. Andrew's House (NSAH) was closed in phases from 1995 to 1996 as a result of the presence of asbestos in the building, and lay empty until demolition in 2017.
External links
- Victoria Quay entry at the Gazetteer for Scotland
- Victoria Quay entry at Edinburgh Architecture