February 15 2019

LDN Architects have brought forward plans for the conservation element of The Engine Yard at the former Shrubhill Tram depot in Edinburgh, currently being delivered by Places for People.

This will see twin B-listed workshops sensitively converted to housing, accessible from a pedestrian spine stretching from Leith Walk, joined by seven new apartment buildings of up to seven storeys in height.

Both workshops will be repurposed to provide a mix of 36 flats and townhouses with the construction of homes abutting the existing external walls, removing the floor slab to allow former inspection pits to be utilised as additional accommodation.

New openings in the brickwork will be framed with pre-weathered zinc sheets.

The gap between each shed will be infilled by a distinctive modern addition, as described by LDN who wrote: “The new gap building is a modern addition that signals a new chapter in the life of the Engine Yard. It is slightly recessed, and following a simple geometry, on the facade facing Dryden Street to help retain the prominence of the original buildings onto the existing streetscape. Its character changes on the side facing onto the new development, extending past the workshop buildings to create a focal access point to the complex from the new pedestrian route.”

The project is expected to be fast-tracked for completion by 2020.

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