Merchiston Villa

This contemporary villa building in Merchiston, Edinburgh was shortlisted for a 2010 RIBA Award.

The Client wanted a family house that was informal, open and full of light - a plan that avoided series of rooms yet could also be made private, cosy and intimate. The Client also wanted to take advantage of the southern aspect to the gardens and the desire for privacy. The plan reflected an inversion of the public nature of many villas where the public rooms face onto the street.

The response was to consider the ground floor as one single space but with two ‘menhir’ walls breaking up the space. The open plan areas relate to the garden with large sliding glass panels connecting out the 
garden spaces in summer, whilst the frontage to the street has a more formal solid approach. Sliding doors at the east open on to a timber terrace which has a more intimate courtyard garden feel. The clients were very clear that they liked to live in an open plan series of spaces that can be one or be closed off into smaller areas. The architects used large sliding doors to achieve a high degree of change in character. The living area merges into the dining space which again merges into the kitchen. Rather than bury them away, the stairs became an integral part of the character of the house - they become part of the central space linking the living to upstairs under a magnificent rooflight. The entry sequence takes a cut through the building linking the stair, rooflight and floor void into a single volume that transversely penetrates the building plan and links through to the garden beyond.

The use of light and views are central to the animation of the living spaces. The early morning sunlight comes into the kitchen and living areas, as the sun tracks around the light is filtered through mature trees into the long glass wall that links the whole of the ground floor. This wall opens up to the garden and has has electrically operated blinds to modulate the sunlight. The rooflight floods the library and staircase with light and is oriented to squeeze the last of the west light of the day. The rooms facing the public street have sliding timber shutters that give a modulated light and privacy whilst giving a scale to the windows that matched the grandeur of Georgian neighbours.

The building’s construction uses highly insulated SIPs panels giving 240mm insulation to the walls and roof with rainscreen stone cladding, black patinated zinc panels and high performance glazing systems. The construction is also highly sealed to maintain heat integrity. The U-value is 0.15W/m2kg making the overall construction highly efficient.