The Castlehill Reservoir was a fire fighting facility, holding a large water reserve dedicated to protecting the Edinburgh Old Town, made redundant after the WWII.

Located near the Camera Obscura, Patrick Geddes’s urban observation centre, the reservoir seemed to naturally lend itself for educational/cultural use in connection with the early initiatives of the Scottish great sociologist.

The project proposed the conversion of the reservoir to form the “Patrick Geddes Centre”, structured over three floors and providing conference facilities, exhibition hall/visitors centre, restaurant and café, offices and support accommodation.

The proposal included structural glass floors and stairs, resonating the aquatic past content, panoramic glass lifts and a full glazed façade to the Royal Mile.