Opened 1973 | ||
 | ||
Nominations Prospect 100 best modern Scottish buildings Similar McEwan Hall, Appleton Tower, Teviot Row House, Informatics Forum, Old College - University | ||
The Potterrow Mandela Centre or Potterrow Student Centre is a students' union building in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The building is operated by Edinburgh University Students' Association. The name "Potterrow" recalls a mediaeval 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.
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.
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.
In 1986 students voted to rename the centre in honour of imprisoned anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.
The building, with a distinctive large Plexiglas dome, was designed by noted architects Morris and Steedman and completed in 1973. The centre was refurbished in 2012.