The building was designed by
Duncan Menzies as the headquarters of the
Queen's Edinburgh Rifles and completed in 1872. Following extensive refurbishment work the building was re-opened by the
Duke of Connaught in May 1905. The Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade became the 4th and 5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalions, the
Royal Scots in 1908. The 4th and 5th battalions amalgamated to form the 4th/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalion, with its headquarters at the Forrest Hill drill hall in 1922. In 1939 the battalion converted to manning searchlights and, in 1940, became an anti-aircraft regiment of the
Royal Artillery. The building was decommissioned and taken over by the
University of Edinburgh in the mid-1990s. The building then became the location of the
Department of Artificial Intelligence. ==References==