An 18th century family of architects placed an enduring mark on Edinburgh’s cityscape. William Adam and his four sons were favoured architects of Edinburgh and London’s society. Our latest digital story tells the tale of their life, works and social circle. It uses depictions of their beautiful buildings pinned to the map of Edinburgh and pictures from contemporaneous architectural ‘copybooks’ held in the Central Library.
Some of these books, such as Vitruvius Scoticus and ‘The Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam, Esquires’, were produced by the Adam architects themselves to showcase their works, while others would have been consulted by them for inspiration and reference.
Follow The Adam Family virtual trail on Our Town Stories and discover which Edinburgh buildings are credited to the family and learn how the sons continued their father’s business and established themselves as leading architects of the day.
Unfortunately, not all buildings survive, but illustrations and drawings provide a reference to what they looked like and how they would have sat within their surroundings.
You can also browse our companion exhibition on Capital Collections to see more pictures of their buildings and selected pages from the copybooks.
Tales of One City 