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£15m hotel to plug prominent Edinburgh gap site

December 5 2014

 £15m hotel to plug prominent Edinburgh gap site
A long-standing gap site on Edinburgh’s Market Street, situated directly opposite Waverley Station, is to be filled by a 98 bedroom hotel designed by JM Architects.

The seven storey intervention comes at the behest of the EDI Group to take advantage of the prime location overlooking the Waverley Valley and will entail demolition of an unlisted former garage.

Rod Duncan, JM’s Edinburgh design director, said: “The patterns of place and architecture within Edinburgh’s Old Town have been determined by many different factors throughout the life of the city, which have, in turn, generated an enormously complex urban condition. In understanding this DNA, we believe we have created a site specific, ‘biogeographical’ response to these historic patterns and processes which celebrate the unique qualities of the Old Town.

“The design is intended to be non-invasive and respectful of its neighbouring buildings while at the same time unapologetically of its own time and culture. An evolution of its context and truly indigenous.”

A planning application and concurrent conservation area consent application for demolition to make way for the £15m development is now under consideration.

Photography by Andrew Lee
The hotel would be targetted at Edinburgh's growing tourism and business market
The hotel would be targetted at Edinburgh's growing tourism and business market
The sensitive site lies in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town
The sensitive site lies in the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town

10 Comments

james
#1 Posted by james on 5 Dec 2014 at 11:43 AM
Other than, 'biogeographical', nowt much wrong wiv dis.
Partick Bateman
#2 Posted by Partick Bateman on 5 Dec 2014 at 11:55 AM
I like the look of this!
Big Chantelle
#3 Posted by Big Chantelle on 5 Dec 2014 at 12:41 PM
"The design is intended to be non-invasive and respectful of its neighbouring buildings while at the same time unapologetically of its own time and culture. An evolution of its context and truly indigenous.”

This is an example of the style fascism of the concrete lovin' modernist brigade. We're always told by you guys how anything traditional or inspired by the past or faithfully rpelicating the best examples of the past is 'pastiche'. And by 'pastiche' you mean it in a derogatory sense with regards to its aesthetic (as opposed to its environmental credentials since many old buildings are ecologically superior to their modern day counterparts).

So who gets to decide what style of architecture is of "out time"? When was a vote had on the matter? The architects here are clearly advocating that their building is stylistically of today thus other aesthetics are not.

But there' just one problem -- they are in a world heritage site and their building jarrs with the other buildings. Why choose rectangular/flat roofs? Why forego ornament when almost all the surrounding buildings have it -- is it because they don't have the skill and artistry to pull it off?

I think this is terrible. But you lot will love it because you gave up on the culture fight long ago and have settled for mediocrity. And concrete.
Rabbie
#4 Posted by Rabbie on 5 Dec 2014 at 12:51 PM
I would rather they just did something really plain and simple using high quality materials. This looks like it will date.
Matthew Ansell
#5 Posted by Matthew Ansell on 5 Dec 2014 at 13:26 PM
Looks very interesting indeed....especially the roof scape and it blends well- not a whiff of 'pastiche' or stained timber in sight.

Chanters' i think you are terrible...a terrible, ignorant bore. Happy Christmas though...
james
#6 Posted by james on 5 Dec 2014 at 13:27 PM
#3 Dear BC, who did this to you? Who or what was responsible? Having read your spiel, it is clear that you have no knowledge of what the philosophy of aesthetics is and merely go on about the appearance of things which you subscribe to the conspiracy of style-fascists and other such tosh. Please get a life and a library card. It's boring.
hingwy
#7 Posted by hingwy on 5 Dec 2014 at 13:27 PM
BC, I swear that you are an UR 'plant' just to wind people up and get more activity in the comments section.
Partick Bateman
#8 Posted by Partick Bateman on 5 Dec 2014 at 13:46 PM
their building jarrs with the other buildings.
-------------
No more so than some of the other buildings in the Royal Mile area, many of which are built in different styles. It isn't a homogeneous, pickled and preserved area reflecting one specific timeframe. It is a chaotic jumble of different styles, heights and forms and all the better for it. Why you want to just draw a line under how it looks today and preserve it in that state for ever is beyond me.
CAD Monkey
#9 Posted by CAD Monkey on 5 Dec 2014 at 13:51 PM
Well they might as well engrave the 2016 Doolan Prize with JM's name on it as this is much better than this years winner, the Motel One portacabin poking out in the background. I disagree that the City of Edinburgh Council should be developing hotels though.
Ardbeg
#10 Posted by Ardbeg on 10 Dec 2014 at 10:48 AM
an interesting solution. There can't be an Architectural practice in the capital that hasn't had a pop at this site.
More importantly, this gap site has provided Scotland's Architectual courses an easy "rinse and repeat" student infill project site for decades. What to do now?!

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