LITTLE ROAD, LIBERTON

Location: Edinburgh

Client: Dunedin Canmore Housing Association

Programme: Current project

This project for 32 new apartments replaces a CEC Care Home with housing specifically designed for older people. Dunedin Canmore has placed a strong emphasis on achieving a high level of design quality and are hoping to use this development to set its standards for future units of a similar type.

The buildings provide lift access to all apartments, which are designed to meet Housing for Varying Needs amenity level. Each of the two blocks contains a common room on the top floor with full-height picture windows to provide uninterrupted views across the city.

The site is surrounded by streets on three sides and the buildings have been designed to address the multiple frontages and contribute to the streetscape. External landscaping has played a key role with low fences, hedges and feature trees addressing the streets. A variety of different bricks within each building adds variation and expresses verticality.

Detailed design aspects have been given considerable care with the services penetrations terminating in groups within recessed areas of dark brick to reduce their visual impact. Significant landscaping around the entrances to the buildings and the inclusion of a secluded garden ensure the design quality extends beyond the buildings and into the landscape.