Canongate

Located within the Old Town Conservation Area, in the heart of Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, the project lies adjacent to the A-listed Old Tolbooth Wynd and Canongate Kirk.  Sitting to the north of the main Canongate, the site represents the last vestige of the former City Gasworks.

Our proposals for a new office development seek to maintain the layered existing fabric and the tales that are inherent within it, whilst providing the next chapter in the story through a contemporary intervention that draws inspiration from the grain and character of this unique piece of the City.

Spanning four stories of accommodation, the scheme offers a unique working environment with flexible areas knitted around the retained brickwork and stone structures, opening up new routes and permeability in and around the site, whilst reconciling a challenging topography in the promotion of greater accessibility and connectivity.

The former Millers Court once again becoming a publicly accessible space, with activity introduced through the proposed café, offering scope for collaborative working or a coffee stop to punctuate Old Town wanders.

At both street and roof level, the proposed additions to the site are articulated to respond to the urban qualities of the surrounding Old Town, continuing the sense of intrigue and encounter that one experiences in moving around it, whilst acknowledging the visibility of the scheme from key elevated views, such as Calton Hill.

In doing so, we have sought to present a contextually appropriate response in the form of a contemporary reading of the various motifs and styles that provide animation within the World Heritage Site. 

The Scots Baronial Style of caphouses, corbelled façades, and asymmetric fenestration, have all provided points of reference from which the proposed aesthetic is drawn. Similarly in their shifts in materiality, providing a rich, characterful palette.

New red-multi brickwork references the predominant material currently present on site, selected to complement the tonal mix of the varying brick types and stone rubble that exist on site.

A pigmented pre-cast is also introduced in further enriching the fabric of the scheme - drawing reference from the aforementioned historic precedents, the pre-cast offers a contemporary and durable reading of the render/harling versus the brickwork’s more pronounced textural qualities. The pink-hue drawn from the seams of the existing sandstone.

The project has now received Planning and Listed Building Consent, with a view to detailed development commencing shortly.