10 George Street

The existing building, designed by Reiach and Hall, was completed in 1993 and let to an office tenant for 25 years – expiring in 2018. The client wished to secure a new high quality tenant on in institutional lease for 15 years. The brief was therefore to refurbish and extend 10 George Street, repositioning the building among Edinburghs finest speculative offices as follows:

• Sensitively respond to the world heritage site
• Replacement of the 25year old curtain walling, which was beyond its anticipated lifespan - improving energy use by decreasing heat loss and solar gain. This also provided the opportunity to renew the external aesthetics to re-brand the building and represent the new tenant whilst retaining the sandstone which grounds the building in its place. 
• Improve the arrival experience for visitors/staff with the creation of a new double-height entrance/reception area with maximum transparency from the street. 
• Deliver office space of the highest quality in line with BCO Guide best practice 
• Retain and extend opportunities for terraces to take advantage of views to Edinburgh Castle, the New Town skyline and beyond to the Firth of Forth and Fife. 
• Embrace the changing lifestyles of staff by providing ample cycle parking along with showering/changing facilities in an attractive lower ground floor. 
• Renew all central plant to improve efficiency. BREEAM Very Good - Target Rating. Energy Performance Certificate - Target B Rating 
• Enhance the existing floorplates by adding extra space that will support more flexible space planning. 
• Enhance the facilities by remodelling the cores to strike a distinct level of quality, including enhancement of toilet accommodation at every level and improved accessible provision. 

Our response to this project was to focus our efforts on the putting retrofit first – prioritising this through the entirety of our thinking, design and development. Providing our clients and the construction industry with a greener approach to building. 

Construction gobbles up energy and resources at a phenomenal rate - it is responsible for up to 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions. The economic model of tearing down existing structures and building new is hugely wasteful. If we can retain more existing structures through intelligently designed retrofit, we’ll reduce carbon emissions and embodied energy costs, conserve resources, and set buildings up for a longer life.