The campus lies south of West Mains Road, west of Mayfield Road and east of Blackford Hill, about 2 miles (3.2km) south of George Square.[1] It is bounded to the south and west by Craigmillar Park Golf Club.
History
Paolozzi statue at King's Buildings
In 1919 Edinburgh University bought the land of West Mains Farm in the south of the city with the intention of building a satellite campus specialising in the Sciences. The first building was the Chemistry Building (renamed the Joseph Black Building) designed by Arthur Forman Balfour Paul in 1919.[2] Building started in 1920 and was completed after 1924 by John Fraser Matthew. This was followed by the Zoology Building (renamed the Ashworth Laboratories) dating from 1929, also by Matthew.
The name "King's Buildings" is a reference to then-king George V.
In 1968, the 10-story Darwin Tower was constructed at the campus, and became home to the Institute of Cell Biology. Kenneth and Lady Noreen Murray later made breakthroughs in genetic engineering here.[4] Plans were announced to redevelop the site in March 2024,[5] led by BMJ Architects.[4] Dismantling of the building commenced in 2024 to make way for the New Darwin building; this was undertaken by Rhodar.[6]
In 2021, the University of Edinburgh celebrated more than 100 years of the site with their KB101 campaign which included a lecture series[9] and newly commissioned artworks by Katie Paterson.[10]
In 2022, the new Nucleus building opened. This is a combined learning, teaching, and social hub at the heart of the campus. The £34m building was designed by architect Sheppard Robson, and built by McLaughlin & Harvey during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12] In September 2025, the building was shortlisted for the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award.[13]
Street and building names
Marion Ross Road sign
All the campus properties shared one of two addresses until, in 2014, the University approached the City of Edinburgh Council, as the road naming authority, with a request to name all the individual roads within the campus to honour famous scientists and mathematicians associated with the University. When the proposed changes were discussed in City of Edinburgh Development Management Sub-Committee, it was pointed out that some of the names were overly long and cumbersome. Two of the proposed names were rejected as unsuitable as Christina Miller was deemed to be too similar sounding to Christie Miller, who already appears in three street names; and Robert Edwards did not meet the Council’s 10-year waiting period for deceased people. The University eventually substituted Marion Ross Road for Christina Miller Road and James Dewar Road for Robert Edwards Road.[14]
Statues at Kings BuildingsNew KB Nucleus Phase 1 Building
Buildings
James Clerk Maxwell BuildingThe Noreen and Kenneth Murray LibraryChristina Miller BuildingSanderson Building (Engineering)Scottish Microelectronics Centre
Building names at KB reflect the spectrum of British science:
In 2019 the data centre in the James Clerk Maxwell Building was named in honour of Mary Somerville[18] and in 2020 the IT skills training room was named in honour of Xia Peisu.
Other facilities
King's Buildings House, also known as KB House, is the student union at King's Buildings, run by Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA). The Mayfield Bar and Blackford Lounge serve hot food and drinks on the ground floor, along with the KB House Shop and a games room. A full servery, Common Room and Kitchen, can be found upstairs, serving a wider variety of hot food. The union is also home to The Advice Place student advisory service and KB Gym, which includes two badminton and two squash courts.
KB Centre Shop is another EUSA-run shop, located in the KB Centre. The store stocks convenience products, alongside hot drinks, made-to-order sandwiches and hot food to take away.[19]
Cafés include The Magnet Café in the James Clerk Maxwell Building, KB Café in the Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library, Upstairs Café in the Swann Building, XY Café in the Roger Land Building, Brucks Café in the Mary Bruck building, and The Eng Inn in the Hudson Beare Building.[20]
King's Buildings 5 Mile Road Race
The KB 5 Road Race is organised every year by the Edinburgh University Hare and Hounds Running Club.[21] It is usually held in late February or early March. The race starts and finishes inside the King's Buildings campus. The course consists of a 5-mile (8.0km) road loop around the streets of south Edinburgh, with quite a few hills, though none of them steep. The race is popular with student and local club runners and usually attracts around 250 participants.[22]
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