Tynecastle High School

Tynecastle High School has played a pivotal role delivering educational needs to the Gorgie district of Edinburgh since 1912. The original school by Architect John Alexander Carfare now forms the backdrop for the new facilities designed by Aedas. The juxtaposition of old and new schools reflects a natural progression and responsiveness to the evolving way in which modern learning and teaching styles are being delivered to local schools and communities.

Our design approach was simple and sympathetic to the local identity and aimed to create a new sense of place and belonging, a focal point to symbolise the future aspirations of both the school and community as a whole. The existing site was heavily contaminated and constrained within its urban environment; this required a sensitive approach when carrying out our site analyses. Noise pollution from adjacent roads and railway lines, privacy and overshadowing, solar orientation, level access and the requirement of a full size sports pitch were the main factors of consideration when developing the building layout and optimising functional arrangements.

The implementation of core sustainable ideals was of key importance and this was achieved through the use of natural and recycled materials, the integration of energy saving and passive environmental technologies and the unique utilisation of waste heat obtained from the local North British Distillery. The Edinburgh Schools achieved BREEAM Excellent.