Urban Eden

In order to provide new homes within the city, we are often asked to solve design problems relating to difficult urban sites. Conceived as the result of a design competition and working in collaboration with EMA Architects, we designed a new neighbourhood within this challenging former industrial site, which is triangular in shape and surrounded by disused railway lines.
The ‘island’ nature of the site presented a strong opportunity to form a distinct neighbourhood, formed of low rise family homes within the centre, and taller flatted buildings defining the site corners.
The central mews-type streets, terraces and courtyards contain a mix of flats and houses, which reflect the domestic scale of Edinburgh’s colonies and provide a safe, secure and sociable environment for family living. The individual plots were designed to be interchangeable with different house types as the project progressed depending on demand, all designed with the same footprint.
To ensure connectivity for the new community, a new bridge was formed into the site along with paths leading to nearby shops and amenities.
The award-winning development has many advantages associated with city living, including close proximity to local shops, sporting facilities, supermarkets, schools and public transport, while providing private gardens to all homes and shared green spaces across the site.