page_title: George Square, Edinburgh
section_title: Redevelopment
hierarchical_section_title: George Square, Edinburgh / Redevelopment
caption_attribution_description: English: George Square house - 60 George Square. This house stands at the north-west corner of the elegant 18th-century George Square, half of which was demolished by the University of Edinburgh to enable its expansion in the 1960s. It is now part of the University's French Department.
context_page_description: George Square is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for Edinburgh's better-off citizens. In the 1960s much of the square was redeveloped by the University of Edinburgh, despite the protests of the Cockburn Association and the Georgian Group of Edinburgh. Most but not all buildings on the square now belong to the university. Principal buildings include the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh University Library and Appleton Tower.
context_section_description: The University of Edinburgh began drawing up plans to redevelop the square in the 1950s. Architects Basil Spence and Robert Matthew were closely involved in the plans. Opposition to demolition of the Georgian Square was led by the Cockburn Association, and the Georgian Group of Edinburgh which was established by Colin McWilliam and others to resist the proposals. In the end, the western side of the square was retained. On the northern side, the 19th century George Watson's Ladies College was retained alongside the modern Hugh Robson Building. Georgian terraces were retained along half of the east side, while the southern side was entirely redeveloped. 
  Today, George Square has the highest concentration of university buildings in its Central campus area, which includes the Modernist Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre, the university's main library, and the Appleton Tower and teaching and administrative buildings.
caption: A Georgian house at the north-east corner of the square
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