Potterrow Student Centre

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. With its distinctive large Plexiglas dome, the building was designed by architects Morris and Steedman and completed in 1973. The centre was refurbished in 2012.

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. In 1986, students voted to rename the centre in honour of imprisoned anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.
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.