MURANO STUDENT HOUSING

Location: Leith Walk, Edinburgh

Client: UNITE

Programme: Completed 2009

Located on a former industrial site, this design provides 276 student study bedrooms and a social hub. The buildings support an independent student lifestyle with attractive external spaces with most of the units having balconies. The top floor includes as larger studios, each with their own roof terrace intended to be occupied by post graduate students or visiting lecturers.

The buildings are organised around a south facing courtyard which accommodates service vehicles and a recycling centre, as well as providing outdoor amenity space for the students. The close proximity of public transport and a new tram line led to increased cycle provision replacing the standard requirement for car parking. Insulation standards are particularly high and a direct solar system provides a proportion of the hot water. A sedum roof has been used and elements which encourage biodiversity, such as swift boxes have been incorporated.

An innovative construction method is proposed in which all the living units are factory pre-fabricated as modules, providing minimum disruption to neighbours during construction and creating very little waste product.

The result is a creative solution providing high quality accommodation on a brownfield site, using modern methods of construction.