June 12 2019

S1 Developments have evolved ambitious plans to erect 338 flats at Leith Docks on Ocean Drive with the submission of plans for four brick-clad towers ranging in height from 10 to 14 storeys.

Skyliner has been designed by architects CDA to a peninsula site sandwiched between the Victoria Quay government buildings and the Ocean Terminal shopping centre and will include two commercial units in addition to a mix of 71 surface and under deck parking places below a podium residents garden.

A pedestrian boardwalk will also be laid along the waterfront, connecting a string of pocket parks to the north while residents will also have access to a communal roof terrace on top of the taller tower.

Conceived as four ‘fingers’ of accommodation oriented north to south the bulk of the ground floor will be given over to shared amenity space, commercial activities and back of house use. The main entrance will be embedded within this podium, recessed to form an entrance courtyard.

In a design statement CDA wrote: “Adding height in this location has benefits both to  occupiers of the site in regards to views out by taking advantage of the open aspects to the north and back towards the city but also from the city's perspective where a development of scale acts as a marker to this major redevelopment area which is vital to the city.”

Mindful of the exposed climate a hard-wearing palette of brick has been specified for the facades with each tower given its own complimentary tone to enhance identity. Aluminium cladding will be employed as a secondary facing material.
 

10 Comments

#1 Posted by stylecouncil on 12 Jun 2019 at 12:01 PM

I rather like these proposals...hopefully there will be sufficient depth in the elevation/ window reveals to emphasise the brick facade.
Brave approach by S1 and so much more appropriate than the prosaic CALA fluff around the corner.

#2 Posted by Daniel on 12 Jun 2019 at 13:15 PM

This site already has a consent for 245 flats, so this feels pretty opportunistic. If they get this through they've got a massive new ROI. This gets turned down, they have a consent to fall back on.

#3 Posted by KLD on 12 Jun 2019 at 14:48 PM

Good to see the height though I can't see why you wouldn't put the surface parking to the south rather than creating a buffer between the flats and the water.

#4 Posted by Alvin Lucier on 12 Jun 2019 at 16:16 PM

KLD, if I remember correctly the north part of the site, between the flats and the water, is reclaimed land and not developable.

#5 Posted by Asimov on 13 Jun 2019 at 08:58 AM

Brilliant. The whole area should look like this. CALA's wasted site mentioned above is an instant eyesore.

#6 Posted by Damp Proof Membrane on 13 Jun 2019 at 16:26 PM

Really struggling to see the quality in these. We can all turn the sun on to early morning eastern light to pretend these will be well illuminated on the north facades. If these were built to the London Plan specification I'd have a little hope, but these look soulless, in a soulless place. They surely need more articulation.

#7 Posted by Grimm on 13 Jun 2019 at 20:14 PM

Brutal

#8 Posted by Grumbleguts on 13 Jun 2019 at 21:20 PM

Ugly, soul-less and brutal. Far too tall. These should be rejected at once. They will destroy the dockside.

#9 Posted by Cadmonkey on 14 Jun 2019 at 09:10 AM

This is surprisingly bad for a site with such potential.
Numerous single aspect flats that stare across at each other and will receive very little sun, and be in shadow for a large part of the day.
The north and south facing flats have very mean balconies.
The internal flat plans don’t comply with regs, with en-suite bedrooms escaping through rooms containing kitchens (that is a basic error esp. for new build)
It looks like 1970s Stalingrad.
Why is this height important?
It’s just a monument to cramming greed.

#10 Posted by Alan Munro on 14 Jun 2019 at 21:36 PM

Not an architect but a passionate Leither. I’m really struggling to see how these buildings will enhance a very soulless area.

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