The future of our cities lies with young, creative minds. I was fascinated by the projects on display by students of the Edinburgh College of Art to transform existing buildings at the 2009 Degree Show. I focused on two Edinburgh projects.

The first is the proposal by Elizabeth Keenan for a boutique charity shop and cafe bar in Stockbridge to be called Pink Ribbon. Elizabeth wants to lose the dowdy, dull atmosphere of the traditional charity shop and launch an airy, trendy environment. There are already many charity shops in Stockbridge but I think that Pink Ribbon would be real crowd puller, greatly benefitting the Breast Cancer Charity coffers.

The next project by Naomi Farrell,  involves the refurbishment of the upper floors above shops in Princes Street into a Centre for Scottish Youth. At present there is a shortage of places for young people aged 11 – 17 to hang out, they’re too young for bars or pubs and looking for something more than a youth club session in a local community centre. You can contact Naomi by email, naomifarrel |(at) hotmail.co.uk.

Here’s to some innovative uses of existing buildings to make Edinburgh an even better place.