St Andrew Square rejuvenation continues with major hotel proposal
July 28 2017
Buchan House, latterly home to IBM, sits in the heart of the New Town conservation area and will be rescued from a state of abandonment while improving accessibility for wheelchair users through careful alterations to existing railings and a stone upstand to allow a hoist to be inserted.
In order to preserve the integrity of the front facades bedrooms observe the scale and proportion of the current floorspace with existing sash and case windows retained and repaired with conservation rooflights bringing light to the attic space.
A remodeling of the interior will see a rear wall removed to open up a ground floor reception space, retaining period features such as Corinthian columns, cornices and downstands while a courtyard space to the rear will be met with a lightweight three storey glass extension with anodized aluminium cladding panels above a rendered base.
Outlining their approach to this new build portion of the scheme the architects stated: “The new façade derives its height from the gable end eaves of 2-5 St David Street and will be set back from the end gable to preserve the hierarchy of the existing building.
“The proposed fenestration of the prefabricated cladding elements and glazing will have a vertical emphasis to reinforce the identity of the Georgian New Town and form whilst giving a positive backdrop for the Portrait Gallery Garden Square.”
Subject to a positive decision by planner’s work could get underway on the 15 month build by early 2018.
North St Andrew Lane will be addressed by a new build extension
Rear extension as viewed from North St David Street
|
4 Comments
#1 Posted by Ian on 28 Jul 2017 at 22:28 PM
Has Edinburgh been so short of hotel beds for years in comparison to other cities that we are now rushing to catch up? What role does the planning department have in all this? Hotels and student flats seem to be sprouting all over Edinburgh. I am confused.
#2 Posted by Stephen on 30 Jul 2017 at 15:56 PM
Yes, the industry claims that Edinburgh has a low number of available rooms relative to size and tourist demand. As for students, there are of course restrictions on numbers of halls of residence in each ward and some plans have been rejected after public consultation (eg. at Lanark Road) but my impression is that clusters of such building can grow up either side of ward boundaries and thus conform to the rules. Correct me if this is wrong!
#3 Posted by Sven on 3 Aug 2017 at 10:01 AM
Adding a glass extension to an original Georgian New Town building does not give 'a positive backdrop for the Portrait Gallery Garden Square' (which is actually called Findlay Court) but merely dolls up a mediocre 1970's building which has to class not to impose on the original Georgian building by forming a courtyard behind it. Demolishing an original New Town building to form a hotel reception is barbarism at its lowest.
#4 Posted by Anne on 21 Aug 2017 at 14:21 PM
The entirety of the interior of the buildings fronting St David St is new. The interiors were remodelled in the 1980s or so. The facade is the only original feature there, so it's not nearly as drastic as it sounds!
Post your comments
Read previous: RankinFraser swing into action at Bowling
Back to July 2017
Like us on Facebook
Become a fan and share
News Archive
Search News
Features & Reports
For more information from the industry visit our Features & Reports section.