Spring Newsletter
March 2009
All too often our publicity tends to focus on the large, well known projects the Practice handles, but a large part of the work we do involves relatively small, but often intricate, domestic projects. This work can vary from a structural report on cracks in a building to high spec house extensions. We are instructed by Architects who require our services or directly by private clients. In this newsletter we have featured some of our recent small projects.
Maitland Road, Kirkliston
This property in West Lothian featured in The Sunday Times on 8 February 2009. The Architects for the project were WT Architecture. The owners of the house were unable to move but required additional space for their family. The contemporary two-storey timber clad extension was achieved within a modest budget.
Hartington Gardens
The Practice is currently working with Helen Lucas Architects on the creation of an open living space in the attic extension. The design includes a large glazed dormer opening up views of the city.
The top floor at the front of the house was already used as a study and the owners wanted to be able to enjoy the spectacular views from the back of the house. However, very limited head height due to the split-level storeys in the house meant that the rear attic space was unusable. By lowering the ceiling of the room below and installing a new glazed dormer, which pops up above the existing roofline, a spacious light-filled studio space has been created, open from front to back. Sliding folding doors open up the room to the views of the Castle and the hills beyond.
The Meadows, Edinburgh
This new play park on The Meadows involved a series of sculptures by the public art practitioner, Jeremy Cunningham. The sculptures in stone and steel draw on traditional toys and the history of play including a diabolo, a whip & top and a gird & cleek. We were asked by the sculptor to provide structural design for the installations. We are currently working with Jeremy Cunningham on improvements to Sustrans cycle routes.
Finlodge Houses
Finlodge houses are top quality timber kits made in Scandinavia that can be used for a variety of uses such as houses, offices, hotel/leisure buildings and chalets. Scandinavian Systems in Edinburgh supply Finlodges all over the country and the Practice provides structural advice to them.
Marchmont Road, Edinburgh
In collaboration with David Blaikie Architect, this project is a garden room extension to a main door flat in Marchmont, Edinburgh. The Practice has two other similar projects with David Blaikie in Edinburgh's New Town.
Tombreck Straw bale House
The Practice designed the timber frame for Tombreck house and undertook extensive research into straw bale construction including specification of straw bale walls. We were working in conjunction with Sue Manning of Ecological Architecture LLP.
White House, Isle of Coll
A new house is being built in and around the ruins of The White House, Coll. The Practice is working with W T Architecture. The spectacular cleft ruin is to be consolidated and only partly occupied. A glazed living room link connects a wing of domestic accommodation to the west, which is sheltered by a massive gabion wall that extends into the landscape, reflecting the ancient patterns of enclosure. The consolidation of the ruin has commenced and the whole is due for completion in 2010.
The Coal Bunker, Portobello
The original house included a damp and unattractive coal cellar built adjacent to the property. In 2007 the Practice was commissioned to provide engineering advice for a new garden room to a design by Crichton Wood Architects. Despite a limited budget, a unique and imaginative design was achieved which makes the best use of the limited space. The design won the Edinburgh Architectural Association's Small Project Award 2008.
Lindifferon
Lindifferon Court, Ladybank, Fife was the conversion of a category B steading into four homes by Edinburgh based Blue Property. Blue Property is part of a new generation of developers committed to utilising green building techniques to create homes with sound eco-credentials. Designed by Roxburgh McEwan Architects, the building's original features have been retained whilst delivering high levels of energy efficiency.
House at Arduaine
The Practice was delighted to have worked with Studio KAP Architects on the design of this family house overlooking Loch Melfort. The house is situated on the beach with wonderful views from the cantilevered sitting room to the South, to Jura and Islay. The project was short listed for the Andrew Doolan Award 2008 and the GIA Design Award 2008.
House at Arduaine
We are delighted that two of our projects have been short listed for the Civic Trust Awards 2009; Culloden Battlefield Memorial Centre with Gareth Hoskins Architects and the restoration of Garrison House and Grounds with Lee Boyd Architects. The ceremony in London on 18th March marks the 50th anniversary of the awards. www.civictrustawards.org.uk
The Practice is very pleased to receive a Commendation as Best Structural Engineers in the 2009 Prospect magazine poll. Prospect conducts the survey to ascertain which companies, allied to architecture, stand head and shoulders above their competitors. This is a great achievement for the Practice as we consistently come runners up to the largest consultancy practice in Scotland.
New Projects
"The situation is eminently beautiful." said Sir Walter Scott of the Milton Lockhart Estate. We have been appointed with Malcolm Fraser Architects to design a new house for this fine 19th century estate on the banks of the upper Clyde. The original William Burn house was shipped off to Japan, but we have higher hopes for the new house. Our involvement also includes repairs to a substantial triple arched stone bridge, which forms the dramatic entrance to the estate.
The Practice has recently been appointed, as part of the team with Page \ Park Architects, to carry out a feasibility study for the Leith Theatre, Edinburgh for the Cockburn Conservation Trust. Leith Theatre was built together with a lending library and although the library is still in popular use, the theatre has not been used for nearly thirty years. The study seeks to explore how the theatre could become a focus for the local arts and performing societies and provide an alternative venue to the more mainstream establishments in Edinburgh.
We have also been appointed to carry out a feasibility study, again with Page \ Park Architects, for the Clydebank Civic Heart for West Dunbartonshire Council. The Town Hall on Dumbarton Road in Clydebank was once at the centre of Clydebank's prosperity but the buildings have become marginalised by the shift of the retail centre to the north side of the railway and are now suffering from inefficient use and mounting neglect. The study will explore how this complex of buildings could once again become the civic and cultural heart of this area, and is another aspect of the ongoing regeneration of Clydebank and its Riverside.
