Edinburgh Architecture News May to July 2016, Lothian Buildings, Architects, Images, Scotland, Design

Edinburgh Building News Spring 2016

Scottish Architectural + Construction Updates – East of Scotland Property

May to July 2016 Archive

Edinburgh Architecture News Spring 2016

Infrastructure in Scotland Conference
CPD certified event on 7th September in central Edinburgh – see events page for details
Following publication of the independent review into planning in Scotland, and the Government’s response, this seminar will provide a timely opportunity to discuss the next steps for planning and infrastructure in Scotland.

The Edinburgh Grand – St Andrew Square Development

image from developer
27 Jul – Plans by developer Chris Stewart Groupfor the major renovation of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s former home on St Andrew Square into one of Edinburgh’s newest tourism developments have been announced.
Due to open in summer 2017, The Edinburgh Grand is the latest addition to luxury accommodation provider, Lateral City Apartments’ portfolio of beautifully appointed serviced accommodation.

Seven Lochs Wetland Park receives significant funding
27 Jul – Plans to create Scotland’s largest urban heritage and nature park have been given a major boost following the announcement that it is to receive £4.5m funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Seven Lochs Wetland Park project is a partnership between Glasgow City Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Forest Enterprise Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and The Conservation Volunteers Scotland, working alongside local communities to bring together 16km² of lochs, parks, nature reserves and woodlands between Glasgow and Coatbridge.

Malt & Hops Pub Floating Expansion in Leith

image from architect
26 Jul – Planning application by GRAS for River Craft: a new floating platform that is as an expansion to the Malt & Hops pub on the Shore, Leith, Edinburgh. The proposal is for the installation of a new floating deck (18.5 m x 6.3 m) to the eastern edge of the Water of Leith basin, directly opposite the pub, which can accommodate additional seating, a servery, storage space and an accessible WC. The expansion will also benefit from additional sunlight for a longer period of the day.

Malt & Hops Pub Expansion on The Shore in Leith

Exhibition of Scottish Architecture
26 Jul – An exhibition of Scottish architecture held as part of a major festival in Italy is to be staged for the first time in Scotland, reports the BBC today.
Prospect North, one of three architecture exhibitions being staged in Oban, was first shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
It explores the stories of 15 Scots communities who have used design and architecture to make a difference.
It forms part of the Oban Festival of Architecture and opens on 30 July.
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36886779

BHS Building Redevelopment

22 + 21 Jul – The B-listed BHS department store on Princes Street is set for a £50m redevelopment.
The store in Princes Street is set to be transformed into two new shops, a hotel and a rooftop restaurant, reports the Edinburgh Evening News.
The current shop is scheduled for closure after the company went into administration earlier this year:
BHS Princes Street

Trump Aberdeenshire Hotel Extension
22 + 21 Jul – Aberdeenshire Council and the Trump Organisation have reached an agreement over plans to expand MacLeod House – the centrepiece of Donald Trump’s golf resort at Menie, near Balmedie:
Trump Aberdeenshire Hotel Extension

Thistle Foundation Building in Craigmillar

19 Jul – The Thistle Foundation have unwrapped a health and wellbeing centre geared toward assisting those with disabilities in leading independent lives at Craigmillar.
Designed by 3DReid Architects the facility sits within a model village-esque development of 103 homes built in the aftermath of the Second World War, now a designated conservation area it was one of the first schemes to be designed specifically for injured returning servicemen.

Disappearing and ReImagining Glasgow
22 + 19 Jul – The Glasgow film maker Chris Leslie showed and talked about his work concerned with the recent demolition and regeneration of Glasgow’s urban fabric. Also a photographer and visual artist, he has been documenting his changing city with the award-winning, long-term multimedia project The Glasgow Renaissance, now renamed to Disappearing Glasgow.
21st July at Edinburgh College of Art, 74 Lauriston Place

Dunne Group enters administration
20 + 19 Jul – Hundreds of construction workers have been laid off with immediate effect following the collapse of Scottish construction firm Dunne Group. Administrators have been appointed at the group and its five subsidiaries after the business ceased trading yesterday resulting in the immediate loss of 524 of the 540 jobs employed across the group, 200 of which are in Scotland.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Bathgate, Dunne also operated from sites in Glasgow, Leeds, Dublin and London, providing a range of civil engineering, building, construction, infrastructure, contracting and plant hire services.

Improved planning performance must be built on in order to increase housing supply
20 Jul – Responding to the publication of latest Scottish Government statistics showing improvements in the time taken to decide major housing developments compared with the previous year – from 41.3 weeks to 40.0 weeks in 2015/16, industry body Homes for Scotland’s (HFS) Head of Planning Tammy Adams said:

“These statistics provide a useful barometer on the overall performance of local planning authorities in terms of how long they are taking to issue decisions on planning applications. But these headline figures can only tell us so much.

“The fact remains that our members continue to experience frustrating delays to planning decisions across Scotland and HFS therefore echoes the Minister’s view that more needs to be done on improving performance.

“It is crucial that this is looked at across the piece. Section 75 negotiations (on what developer contributions are required) can double the amount of time it takes to issue a decision. Once a decision has been issued, the delivery of much-needed new homes can be further delayed as developers await yet more decisions relating to planning conditions. And, at present, if permission is refused or decisions are not forthcoming, the appeal system is struggling to cope with the current volume of cases.

“The on-going review of the planning system provides an opportunity to address these and other key issues in order to create circumstances which better support an increase in housing delivery across all tenures. HFS remains committed to playing a positive and full part in that work.”

Clerk Street Cinema Building
19 Jul – 7N Architects have completed an 86 bedroom student build on the site of an A-listed cinema in the south side. The cinema building site has attracted plenty of controversy in recent years with proposals by make architects then 7N Architects.
The Buccleuch property sees the less significant rear of the cinema replaced by a five-storey infill intended to sit in harmony with adjoining tenements with a palette of white render and polished concrete panels referencing the white Hathenware façade of a retained entrance on Clerk Street. The project comprises a mix of studio and cluster flats. Both the auditorium and foyer of the art deco cinema have been retained for re-use as a cultural venue with key features such as a sky ceiling preserved.

Inverkeithing Regeneration
19 Jul – Fife Council planners have begun deliberations on regeneration proposals for a 7N conceived masterplan for the Fraser Avenue area of Inverkeithing, an area which is currently ranked in the lowest 15 per cent most deprived areas of the country.

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2016
Daniel Cardno Project:

19 Jul – Daniel Cardno’s project proposing transition from skills associated with the oil and gas industry towards an economy concentrated on maritime industry and tourism won the RIAS Rowand Anderson Silver Medal, as Maelys Garreau picked up the A&DS Award for best 3rd year student with her proposed design for a “catch-up” institution for previously hospitalised children using outdoor play.

Ryan Canning Gabriella Mill Project:

Their projects were just some of the high quality student projects awarded at the annual Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture.

Daniel Cardno Project:

A&DS and RIAS Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2016 News

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Edinburgh Floral Clock

18 Jul – The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland is to be the focus of the design of this year’s planting scheme for Edinburgh’s floral clock, in honour of the Incorporation’s Centenary. It is positioned centre stage in Princes Street Gardens, was completed this week following extensive work by the Edinburgh Parks’ staff who have planted over 35,000 individual flowers and plants to create a display using elements from the RIAS’ crest.

Randolph House

18 Jul – Redpath Construction has been appointed as main contractor to deliver the refurbishment of Randolph House in Edinburgh’s city centre. Located off Queensferry Road, behind Charlotte Square, Randolph House is owned and managed as part of the Charlotte Square Collection, and has the advantage of being part of an estate of premium office properties with a reputation for high quality specification.
The property extends over four floors and 11,248 sqft of open, bright and energising office accommodation with a new restaurant proposed on the ground floor.

Accies Development in Stockbridge

17 Jul – A historic sports club is poised to sue the council on the back of a growing legal row over a 2ft-wide strip of land.
The Grange Club, based in Stockbridge, has launched legal action to try to force city officials to rebuild a demolished wall along Comely Bank Road.
The move comes amid an ongoing dispute between Grange and nearby Edinburgh Accies, who want to build a new rugby pitch and 2500-seat stand at Raeburn Place – alongside bars, shops and other facilities.
The scale of the £16m plans – designed by award-winnign Michael Laird Architect – has provoked outcry in the surrounding community, and earlier this year it emerged the entire scheme could be held to ransom for as much as £1m.
Read more: http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/our-region/edinburgh/stockbridge/legal-battle-over-stockbridge-development-1-4178050#ixzz4EeiVguFD

Pecha Kucha Edinburgh

15 Jul – Event this evening, tickets from £3(conc.)….a bargain in this Festival City.
Gordon Duffy, Curator, Pecha Kucha Edinburgh
http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/edinburgh

Loch Earn Cottage
15 Jul – Denizen Works have obtained planning permission for a 135sq/m extension of a cottage at Loch Earn within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
Denizen Works were the architects fro House No.7 sits on the Island of Tiree. It won numerous awards including Grand Designs Home of the Year and the Stephen Lawrence Prize.

Muirton Regeneration
15 Jul – A proposal for 203 homes by Caledonia Housing Association in the Muirton district of Perth have been approved.
The £17m scheme designed by Barton Willmore and Urban Union is part of the regeneration of St Johnstone football club’s former ground. Start on site is due this autumn with completion by summer 2019.

Construction Output Comment from Robertson Group
15 Jul – today’s Statistical Bulletin from the ONS: Construction Output: May 2016

Commenting on the decrease in construction output in Great Britain: May 2016, Derek Shewan, chief operating officer of Robertson Group, said:

“While the figures reveal a decrease in output in the wider industry, Robertson Group remains resilient during this drop.

“With 19 individual and diverse businesses that encompass the entire built environment lifecycle, it is our focus on innovation, productivity and business sustainability that help us through these challenging times.”

1200 homes for West Edinburgh
14 Jul – A Proposal of Application Notice has been submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council to create a brand new village on farmland to the west of the Capital.
Under the plans, more than 1200 homes, a neighbourhood centre, a primary school and new roads and infrastructure would be built at Hatton Mains, just off Dalmahoy Road and the A71.
Planning and development consultancy Clarendon said it is working with the landowner to assess the potential of the site adding that the new village will “contribute much needed new housing within the Edinburgh city boundary”.
The Proposal of Application Notice submission will initiate discussion and scoping design with the council and technical studies are being commissioned to determine the likely scale.
It is thought the overall development – which is of a similar scale to the first phase of the nearby Garden District– would cost more than £250 m.

Fraserburgh Civic Hub Building

14 Jul – Moxon Architects and conservation specialist Alan Marshall have obtained permission to proceed with the reconfiguration of two civic buildings in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, as part of a wider masterplan for the town.
Fraserburgh 2021 involves £5.7m built heritage renewal elements. It is focused on the restoration and merger of the B-listed Town House and former police station on the corner of Saltoun Square and Kirk Brae to form a new Aberdeenshire Council services hub.

Regional Performance Centre for Sport in Dundee
14 Jul – Proposed £17 m Regional Performance Centre for Sport in Dundee submitted for planning permission.
Earmarked for a site at the city’s Caird Park, the centre will provide training and competition facilities for sports clubs and provide a new training base for Dundee FC.
The site, which already caters for football, athletics and cycling, will see these facilities improved drastically along with incorporating other sports such as rugby, basketball, badminton and cricket.

Greendykes Regeneration
14 Jul – Glasgow architecture studio Anderson Bell + Christie Architects have drawn up plans for 75 new homes on 9.5 hectares of land at Greendykes Road.
A series of perimeter blocks define the streetscape and shelter an interior courtyard. The residential design emphasises four ‘pronounced corners’ in dark brick, thus connecting back to the established masterplan.

University Buildings in Scotland
14 Jul – Almost a quarter of university buildings in Scotland have been found to be in a poor condition and in need of investment at a time of “significant cost pressures”.
Audit Scotland has warned that Scottish universities were increasingly using internal funds and borrowing to pay for capital projects which was “unsustainable” in the long term

Scottish Building on Stirling Prize Shortlist
14 Jul – good news, one building out of six is from Scotland, and it is in Glasgow but by Edinburgh architects:
City of Glasgow College, Riverside Campus on RIBA Stirling Prize 2016 Shortlist.
The building design is by Michael Laird Architects / Reiach and Hall Architects.

Scottish Oceans Institute Building
13 Jul – Designs are currently being finalised by project architects BMJ to provide a new home for the Scottish Oceans Institute as well as a suite of climatically controlled rooms to allow sensitive electrical and optical equipment to be operated in the presence of seawater.

Kirkintilloch Town Hall Extension
13 Jul – CBC has commenced excavation work for the extension to Kirkintilloch Town Hall designed by Michael Laird Architects.

South Fort Street Property
12 Jul – A detailed planning application has been submitted to build 122 homes at South Fort Street in Edinburgh. Designed by EMA Architects, the project for Barratt Homes and the Blake Group will see the redevelopment of the site within the Bonnington area which is recognised for major change in the coming years.

Meadowbank Flats
12 Jul – An £11m bid by MNM Developments to build 52 flats on Dalgety Road is being progressed with a view to complete by early 2017. The scheme is being targeted at buyers seeking larger investment opportunities as well as second time buyers and will come with its own basement car park.

Marionville Road Building
12 Jul – Property developer MNM Developments has started work on an £11m residential scheme on Marionville Road. The 51 apartment-development near Meadowbank Stadium, is scheduled for completion in early 2017 and is being supported by a £7.7m funding package from Bank of Scotland.

The Ropeworks Leith Apartment Building

11 Jul – The Teague Group have launched a new apartment complex in Leith designed by CDA Architects.

Occupying the site of the former Edinburgh Roperie and Sailcloth Co. The Ropeworks will offer 600 properties from open plan loft apartments to garden duplexes, terraces and colony houses.

The Salamander Place masterplan involves the regeneration of a large urban site to create buildings but also a new landscaped park and extensions to the allotments.

The first phase includes 163 flats with undercroft parking built on brownfield land which has lain dormant since 2007. Construction is due by April 2017.

University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences

20 + 11 Jul – London architecture office John McAslan + Partners has won an international architectural competition to design the new GeoSciences Building for the University of Edinburgh. The University’s School is ranked in the top 16 such faculties worldwide and is the largest community of GeoScientists in the UK, home to 400 academics and research students.

A reinterpretation of the typical laboratory layout will achieve transparency throughout the building, visually connecting write-up areas, laboratories, group rooms and offices. The building will be unified by a dramatic central atrium.

John Lewis Leith Street Entrance
11 Jul – the new Leith Street entrance to the John Lewis Edinburgh store has opened. The entry design is part of major enabling works associated with the Edinburgh St. James Redevelopment Project.

Aberdeen Towers
11 Jul – A student housing development and public square outside Aberdeen railway station designed by Halliday Fraser Munro Architects. The project is for Atholl Square Developments.
The scheme – with three towers – aims to decks over the existing railway tracks to improve connectivity between the station and Union St. It replaces Atholl House which dates from the 1970s.

Boeing Aircraft Facility Building
11 Jul – Some post-Brexit good news at last! US plane maker Boeing announces a new £100m facility for a new fleet of spy planes at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray.

Stanley Mills Buildings
11 Jul – New uses are being sought for historic Perthshire buildings. Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust is planning to renew the East Range at Stanley Mills.The four riverside buildings contain potentially over 2,000 sqm of floor space. They are the last part of the historically important mill complex to be regenerated since the mills closed in 1989.

India Quay Development
8 Jul – The EDI Group Ltd reveals its new India Quay development could boost the local economy by more than £30 m over the next three years.

The figures released today by alongside a set of new CGI visuals of the scheme, highlight the economic impact of building its India Quay development at the former McEwan’s brewery site in Fountainbridge.

The first phase of the £200m development which has now been submitted for detailed planning consent, will transform the under-used site into a modern mixed-use neighbourhood of canal side apartments, shops and businesses.
Working with Edinburgh-based 7N Architects, EDI’s detailed residential plans include a range of one, two and three bedroom hi-spec apartments as well as 112 affordable homes. The three bedroom homes will be built in the traditional colony style, a favourite of the Edinburgh family market.

University of St Andrews Marine Laboratory Building

8 Jul – A new marine laboratory for the University of St Andrews has been approved by Fife Council.
Set to be built at East Sands, the £10m marine biology lab will replace the internationally renowned but now outdated Gatty Marine facility.

Pop-Up Cities Expo
8 Jul – Pop-up Cities Symposium on Monday morning (09.00 for 09.30 until -13.30, The Assembly Rooms, George Street.

The symposium brings representatives from Bergen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Rotterdam and Vilnius together in one morning.

Luxury Aparthotel in Former School Building

7 Jul – A former school building next to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is to be converted into a boutique hotel and restaurant as part of the £150 m New Waverley development currently transforming the city’s Old Town.
The C-listed red sandstone Canongate Venture building, one of Edinburgh’s last remaining ‘School Board’ designs of the late-Victorian era, will become a 21-room luxury aparthotel, managed by Apple Apartments.

The transformation of the Canongate Venture building will be carried out by Edinburgh-based Staran Architects, who are also delivering the conversion of the Waverley Arches. Subject to final planning consents, it is anticipated that building work will begin in autumn 2016, aiming for completion by the second half of 2017.

Plans for the two-story building include the conversion of the original school rooms into 21 double-height serviced apartments, each with a mezzanine level providing separate sleeping and living areas. The rooms will overlook a light-filled glass atrium forming part of a spectacular central galleried hall, which has remained unchanged since the building was first designed in 1901 as an infant school by Edinburgh School Board architect Robert Wilson.

Launched in 2013, London-based Apple Apartments specialises in the conversion of small-scale period buildings into high-quality serviced apartments. The company is run by Scottish businessman Billy Cowe and his brother Peter, who have been involved in global property management and development for the past 15 years.

The restoration of the Canongate Venture forms part of the latest phase of the New Waverley development. Delivered by Artisan Real Estate Investors, the 7.5 acre site links Waverley Station to the Royal Mile and the creation of a new hotel marks another significant milestone in the evolution of New Waverley as one of Edinburgh’s most anticipated new destinations.

This year two new hotels – a Premier Inn and a Hub by Premier Inn – have opened on site and shortly to be joined by another, the Adagio Aparthotel, connecting to the Royal Mile through an exciting new public square.
The Waverley Arches, a row of 15 converted Victorian arches which sits along from the Canongate Venture, is also coming to life.
Other flagship Apple developments include Marconi House on the Strand in London.

Perth City Hall Building
7 Jul – The council plan to turn the City Hall into a visual arts centre, based on the premise of housing the Stone of Destiny there.

Aberlady Houses
7 Jul – Cruden Homes has submitted plans to build 107 houses in Aberlady. The plot is located on the west side of the town, off Kirk Road on land owned by Wemyss and March Estates.

Aberdeen Conference Centre Building
6 Jul – Work has begun to construct an exhibition and conference centre in Bucksburn, Aberdeen, following a sod cutting ceremony on site. The design is by Keppie.

Bonnington Village Development
6 Jul – A 201 home residential development and two shops off Bonnington Road Lane, has won unanimous support from planners.

Kengo Kuma at the Pop-Up Cities Expo in Edinburgh
6 Jul – Review in the RIBA Journal – “The first UK pavilion by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma combines the rustic randomness of a fireside log pile with precision engineered offsite prefabrication.

The Kibako pavilion, installed at the Pop-Up Cities Expo in Edinburgh, is a 5m x 5m ‘wooden box’ built entirely from wind-blown trees. The different varieties of spruce were collected from Templeton Woods, a managed urban amenity woodland in Dundee.

The pavilion references traditional Japanese craft skills, and resembles a form of ‘inverted’ log cabin in which the timbers forming the walls have been cut up and laid perpendicular to the surface, instead of length ways.

Grappling with a limited budget, and a mere two-day timeframe for assembly, local designer James F Stephen Architects chose to adapt Kuma’s concept into a prefabricated panelised structure.”

https://www.ribaj.com/culture/kengo-kuma-pavilion

Lochgelly Town Centre Regeneration
5 Jul – Revitalisation of Lochgelly town centre recognised at the Planning and Placemaking awards with two category wins. The design is by ECD Architects.

South Fort Street Homes
5 Jul – A detailed planning application has been submitted by EMA Architects to erect 122 homes at South Fort Street, Edinburgh, by Barratt Homes and the Blake Group.

World Architecture Festival 2016
4 Jul – Only Scottish project is Ranfurly & Cochrane Garden Rooms, Johnstone, by Spark Architects.

Saltire Society Housing Design Awards
4 Jul – The winners of the 2016 Saltire Society Housing Design Awards and the recipient of the Saltire International Travel Bursary were announced at a special ceremony in Edinburgh.

King’s Stables Road Development Approval News
4 Jul – Proposals for this mixed-use development on a vacant King’s Stables Road site have been approved by the City of Edinburgh Council.
The project near the Grassmarket aims to create a development that breathes new life into a neglected part of the city. It received a Minded to Grant consent at Development Management Committee, subject to the necessary legal conditions.
The proposals are being taken forward by a joint venture between Peveril Securities – the development arm of the Bowmer and Kirkland Group – and Campus Development Management.
The development will include a mix of residential units, a hotel, an arts facility; student accommodation and a variety of commercial units activating the ground floor of the development. The proposals also include improved public realm integrating the existing courtyard with new routes and courtyards throughout the development, including the enhancement to the setting of King’s Bridge.
The development includes:
– 59 residential units
– 92 bedroom boutique hotel
– 167 room managed student accommodation
– Arts Facility
– Class 1,2 and 3 commercial units activating the ground floor of the development

RIBA Presidency Candidates – Edinburgh Meeting

The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland hosted a discussion in Edinburgh on Monday 4th July at 4:30pm-6.00pm in the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound between the RIBA Presidency candidates.

Both Alan Jones PPRSUA Hon FRIAS and Andrew Salter were in attendance and Ben Derbyshire sent a video message.

Comments for this Edinburgh Building News Spring 2016 post are welcome.

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Edinburgh Buildings – Archive for Aug – Nov 2016

Edinburgh Architecture News 2016 – Archive for the early part of the year

Edinburgh Architecture News 2015 – Archive