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November 2016
Big change in store for Princes Street

Big change in store for Princes Street

November 2 2016

Comprehensive Design Architects, acting on behalf of LaSalle Investment Management, have tabled plans for conversion of a listed BHS store at 64 Princes Street, Edinburgh, to form a hotel, revamped retail space and restaurants.

As part of this work a later extension on Rose Street dating from the 1970s will be demolished to allow provision of new building connected to the existing store by way of new bridge connections over Rose Street South Lane.

Faced in buff stone, standing seam copper and white glazed brick this will allow entrance to a 137-bed rooftop hotel and restaurants offering panoramic views over the Old and New Towns, dragging redundant upper floors back into use whilst preserving the ground floor retail space.

As part of this work the upper level of the BHS store will also be remodeled to allow creation of a raised ‘crown’ housing the rooftop restaurant.

In their design statement CDA commented: “The significance of the Princes Street elevation and the high standard of architecture informed our approach for the redevelopment. The proportions, materiality and quality of detailing is an integral part of the building’s listing. It was understood at an early stage that it was important to retain as much of the existing building as was practically possible with any intervention proposed detailed to sit comfortably and read as part of the existing building.

“When designing the proposal to ‘lift’ the top storey it was considered important not to alter the characteristics set out within the original design. Maintaining the low-level roofline and positioning the extent of the top storey to stop it from becoming visible from street level were all integral to the development of the design.”

The new roofline will include a ‘modern interpretation of the dormer window’ together with a recessed roof line giving prominence to the vertical windows.

Materials in the new build elements will match the quality of the current buildings

The Rose Street elevation will be completely rebuilt in tandem with the copper roof

5 Comments

#1 Posted by basho on 2 Nov 2016 at 13:31 PM

'it was considered important not to alter the characteristics set out within the original design'

Why? The original design is bland and unremarkable. The heritage lobby have gone slightly loco when they start protecting buildings like the old BHS. The scale is all wrong. The height and mass of Jenners should be the template for buildings right along its length. This is the only thing that will stop it looking like the incoherent embarrassment it is now.
This is a sadly missed opportunity.