Edinburgh Tram Network, Designs, News, Tram System Scotland

Edinburgh Trams : Architecture

Scottish Transportation Development

Mar 2007

Edinburgh Tram System News Update

Scottish Ministers have approved start on preparations for Edinburgh’s new tram line with the release of £60m of funding.

Edinburgh Tram Conference Nov 2004

Edinburgh’s proposal to reintroduce a tram system is currently one of the major hot discussion topics in the city.

The RIAS held a conference on the subject at the Ster Century cinema, Ocean TerminalLeith, 26 November, which was addressed by one of Edinburgh’s major politicians, Trevor Davies, as well as Sir Terry Farrell, City Design Champion. A key contribution to the conference was made by a team of four Scottish architectural practices who were tasked with creating “mini visions” for areas designated as having future tram stops.

Their presentations looked at how the Edinburgh tram system would act as a catalyst for regeneration in these areas and a number of imaginative ideas were presented: a proposal for a major new building and public park at the head of Leith Walk, on the edge of the world heritage site creating a waterfront recreational park at Granton investigating how derelict land to the west of the city could be developed into a living neighbourhood proposing how a new area of mixed development could be created at Crewe Toll.

anderson bell christie

arcade architects

smith scott mullan architects

zone architects

All these presentations were highly illustrated and there are a number of 3
dimensional visualisations available.

RIAS, 0131 229 7545

Edinburgh Trams – Conference PR 29 Nov 2004

Edinburgh Trams – Practices:
Anderson Bell Christie Architects : Glasgow
Arcade Architects: Edinburgh
Zone Architects: Edinburgh
Smith Scott Mullan Associates: Edinburgh

anderson bell christie

Edinburgh Trams: Proposals by Arcade Architects – Crewe Toll

TRAMspotting – 26 Nov 2004

Edinburgh Trams at Crewe Toll – ARCADE Architects

Tram line 1 runs along the former railway line between Roseburn and West Granton. Tramstop 18 is on the site of the former Crew junction at Ferry Road, some 100 yards west of Crewe Toll roundabout.

At the moment this area is a sea of tarmac – a place built for cars and hostile to pedestrians. The tram is part of a new idea about creating a ‘walking city’ and the tramstop 18 offers an opportunity to transform this place into a place for people.

As the journey to Princes Street Shopping will only take 10.7 minutes, this new place will be connected to the city as a whole, as well as being important for the local community.

Our proposal is to form a new urban space similar in density and intensity to other places along Ferry Road, such as Goldenacre. We have created a glass-roofed wedge-shaped pedestrian piazza that slopes up gently from Ferry Road southwards to link with a new linear park along the tramline. The piazza is lined with four and five storey mixed-use buildings and is a lively space with cafes and markets as well as a venue for special events.

Ferry Road itself is transformed into a boulevard like the Ramblas in Barcelona, with a wide tree-lined pavement in the centre making it more pleasant for pedestrians.

To the north, new buildings enfront West Granton Access, turning it into a proper street, and a new block endstops the open parkland alongside Ferry Road offering the chance for this landscape to be redefined. A new side street to the east links the piazza to Telford Road and the nearby Western General Hospital.

Edinburgh Trams: Proposals by Smith Scott Mullan Architects – Picardy Place

Edinburgh Trams at Wardie Bay – Zone Architects

Edinburgh Trams: Proposals by Zone Architects – Wardie Bay

The Wardie bay tram stop will be located half way between Granton and Leith.

It will be the only stop with a direct view of the sea.

Zone Architects’ proposal aims to show the potential of reclaiming a neglected city edge to create workable and potentially sociable public space. Networks and infrastructure (such as the proposed tram) can be an impetus to design and are vital ingredients of the public realm of cities. The Wardie Bay seafront esplanade has the potential to contribute to a strong blue belt identity in Edinburgh. The experience of passing through it becomes a playful pause; arriving provides opportunities for encounters, exercise and sea gazing.