July 30 2018

The City of Edinburgh Council and Anderson Bell + Christie have teamed together for the latest element of the city’s 21st Century Homes initiative with plans for 40 houses for social rent on vacant ground at Bingham Avenue, Duddingston.

Offering a spectrum of homes from one-bed flats through to three-bedroom houses the scheme acknowledges its suburban surroundings by aligning with the surrounding street and enclosing communal gardens which also act as a ‘buffer’ to a neighbouring respite centre.

Incorporating a mix of flats, terraces and colony-style homes unified through common use of light grey/buff brick with bronze windows with subtle detailing including extended metal reveals to common stair entrances, emphasised by deeply recessed stairwell windows.

Outlining their approach to the colony design the architects wrote: “The colony typology provides private gardens to both the upper house and lower flat. The upper house has use of the larger south facing front garden accessed via external staircase.

“This staircase is shared by two of the houses encouraging sociability between neighbours. This creates a small entrance balcony, usable as a space to sit outside in good weather for the upper floor and providing shelter at the ground floor when the weather is poor.”

9 Comments

#1 Posted by boaby wan on 30 Jul 2018 at 12:06 PM

A shared staircase on a colony?
seems like yet another lazy design statement mentioning colony to edinburgh planners without bothering to figure out what makes the colonies successful...

#2 Posted by Ghost on 30 Jul 2018 at 12:17 PM

Really nice scheme- one of the best I've seen on UR in absolute ages! Well done ABC.

#3 Posted by Bill S on 30 Jul 2018 at 13:00 PM

A shared staircase to a first floor entered apartment does not make a Colony dwelling. Perhaps the Architects could visit one of the 10 Colony developments to study what makes them so successful?!

#4 Posted by Gavin Barrie on 31 Jul 2018 at 10:02 AM

Perhaps some of the previous commentators need to actually visit Edinburgh's colonies. Certainly the ones in Stockbridge all have shared staircase and landings to enter the upper dwelling. Pictures of them are plentiful here: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=stockbridge+colony&rlz=1C1GGRV_enGB751GB751&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPo7mH_cjcAhUKXMAKHVprDOwQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=637&safe=active&ssui=on

#5 Posted by FHM on 31 Jul 2018 at 10:16 AM

Perhaps Gavin Barrie you could look at the images you just linked, and then compare the scale and form against what is proposed? Like the other commentators have noted - it is lazy post rationalising to say that just because a 3 storey building is accessed by a shared external staircase it makes it a Colony development. There are numerous such developments across town and it seems as if the designers have not bothered to visit one.

#6 Posted by boaby wan on 31 Jul 2018 at 10:20 AM

Gavin, you are of course correct - however that's about the only thing these have in common with a colony development.
There have been numerous developments in edinburgh recently where external stairs have been added (nice and cheap for a developer) and sold to planners as "new colonies" - some don't even have garden space...
The main aspects of colonies are the density, scale and tight urban plots, they might as well say the flats and terraces are inspired by the new town

#7 Posted by lm on 1 Aug 2018 at 09:17 AM

Tough to digest this project. Colonies or not the overall aesthetic is awful.

#8 Posted by Stubo on 1 Aug 2018 at 14:12 PM

Who knew tinted windows were acceptable in Edinburgh?

#9 Posted by Tim Mckechnie on 28 Dec 2021 at 13:40 PM

I've been homeless since 2019,and very
Grateful to have been offered a flat, cannot wait for
New beginnings????

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