GREENDYKES C HOUSING

Location: Craigmillar, Edinburgh

Client: The City of Edinburgh Council

Programme: Completed 2014

The project is part of the Greendykes North masterplan and provides 60 new homes for mid-market and affordable rent. The buildings complete an urban block with phase B of the masterplan, enclosing private rear gardens and a shared back green. A larger four-storey flatted building addresses Greendykes Road, while lower scale two-storey houses and three-storey flats face new mews streets.

The architectural strategy is one of forming buildings close to the street edge around an enclosed courtyard, with the streets conceived as Home Zones to provide extra recreational space for the residents. The accommodation is a mix of types including units for disabled people. All accommodation is designed to Housing for Varying Needs standards and Secured by Design.

The scheme has a gas-fired communal CHP system which will provides heating and hot water for the dwellings as well as electricity for the communal areas . The system is designed to be connected in the future to the district heating system proposed by PARC for the wider Urban Regeneration Area.

The palette of materials responds to the Design Guide with buff brick generally and dark cladding panels located to prominent corners such as the one overlooking the proposed North Greendykes Park. The flats to the south-west corner of the development have large sit-out balconies, with all other flats provided with Juliet balconies to large living room and bedroom windows.