Love it or hate it? Readers react to first look at David Mach designed Edinburgh building

News readers have very mixed reactions as sculptor David Mach unveils his design for an Edinburgh building made from 30 shipping containers
By Joe Cawthorn
Published 14th Jun 2019, 14:43 BST
The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.
The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.

The Fife-born artist, famed for making work out of matches, tyres, magazines and coat hangers, has revealed he used dozens of boxes of Bacofoil to create the design of “Mach 1,” which will be around 50ft tall at its highest point.

The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.

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Sculptor unveils design for Edinburgh building made from 30 shipping containers
The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.
The building, which will have around 3500 sq ft of floor space, could open by the spring of next year if planning permission is secured for a vacant site next to the Edinburgh Park Central tram stop.
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I suppose it will create a feeling of awe when near it or under it, a bit like the pyramids. My concern would be whether it is kept properly painted or left to get rusty-looking. I don’t enjoy rusty-looking sculptures.

David-Müzeyyen Merrick

If you squint your eyes, it looks like an arthritic old man trying to get up off a low settee. Or a drunk man falling backwards into a supermarket shelf. I think it’s brilliant!

John Smith

Utter garbage - not fit to be built anywhere in Edinburgh.

Graeme Robertson

A mirror image of the Scottish Parliament.

Rab McCall

It’s so much better than the parly, Rab. As the bits to make it are freely available, it shouldn’t end up years behind schedule and tens of millions over budget. Brilliant! That is a metaphor for so many things about today’s Edinburgh.

Lucien Romano

What a load of rubbish.

Val Hynson

Beautiful looks an amazing structure. It would be wasted in Edinburgh, they have no vision. Take it where folk will appreciate it. I love it.

Tim Shields

At least it’s not beige.

Holly Mason

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It is said that art and architecture is subjective but this! Someone is having a laugh. For the artist to describe it as reminding him of the rocks in coastal Fife, well I have many years visiting Fife and I ain’t seen any rocks like that. And Inca temples? That is a remark too far. But as I say art is subjective.

Sheila Ross

Love it! It’s great to see different buildings pop up. We are so behind the rest of the world when it comes to modern architecture. Remember the New Town was seen as outrageous and scandalous at the time.

Lisa Cairns

They would have been better to spend the money on converting them into homeless accommodation houses.

Robert Speirs

Why bother? Looks like it fell off a container ship - or is that the point?

Fiona Fleming

Get it all to the scrap yard.....Pleeeeeeeez.

June Davies

Love it.

Graham Goodall

Pile of junk.

Lorraine Evans

Looks like William Waugh scrap yard!

Lorna Allan

Cubism! In a way. Quite funky actually.

Deb Lancaster

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Jeezo! What passes as ‘art’ these days never ceases to amaze me!

Alexandra Wallace

Has it collapsed?

Paul Clarkson

Mach at his best.

Suzi Ridley

Eye catching right enough hahahhaha.

Tika Oliver

Art?! It looks like an industrial accident prop that you would see in the background of an Injury Lawyers 4 U advert!

James Craig

Go for it! It’s different. Might not be to everyone’s taste, but at least it’s not student accommodation.

Steven Harvey

What a waste. That land could have been used for more student accommodation.

Darren Wills

Looks like Dalton’s scrap heap.

Kev Cameron

The world’s gone nuts.

John Clark

Are we that desperate, seriously?

Michael Widdowson

Fly tipping.

Jan Bloomfield

In two years’ time it’ll look like a rusty scrap yard.

Tam Carr

That’s a mess.

Craig Hill II

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It’s cheaper to dump shipping containers in destination countries than to carry them back empty and re-use them. Think about that.

Larry Gentry

‘Big Heids’ sculpture on the M8 at Coatbridge is clever and also uses shipping containers as its basis.

David Russell

Looks like they’ve fallen from the side of a container ship.

Ian Stewart

Looks ridiculous.

Carey Sinclair

Excellent, there’s not enough poetry venues in the west of Edinburgh.

Michael Dow

That reminds me of Tracey Emin’s ‘unmade bed’.......pretty awful, definitely not art.

William Dow

A drunken eyesore.

Michelle Goodband

This looks pretty cool.

Tom Pearson

Related topics:EdinburghFife