May 14 2019

Izat Arundell Architects have brought forward proposals to repair Leith’s Bath Road through reinstatement of housing on the site of a tenement property demolished in 1979.

The resulting gap-site has been earmarked for six contemporary flats alongside an extension to a ground floor pub, spurred by continued regeneration of the Leith Docks area.

Bath Road has become a hotbed of residential development in recent years courtesy of the proposed tram extension, which has helped fuel plans for a giant ‘gateway’ Barratt development on land opposite.

Though far smaller in scale this latest proposal seeks to make an outsize impact with a striking seven storey form, providing a powerful punctuation mark to the street.

Explaining the decision to aim higher the practice wrote in a design statement: “As the chimney stacks along the boundary formed an almost complete wall at roof level, it felt natural to complete this wall by taking the proposed building up to the chimney cope level. This decision felt justified by the chimney gable further along the tenement which runs parallel to the street rather than perpendicular.

“The result creates a mass that allows the overall tenement to feel more balanced and therefore complete.”

Window openings have been scaled to match the surviving tenement adjacent with further connections established through the use of dark exterior brickwork to tie-in with the soot blackened sandstone.

Communal areas in each apartment are oriented to face the street with bedrooms to the rear enjoying views over the Firth of Forth.
 

7 Comments

#1 Posted by Walt Disney on 14 May 2019 at 15:45 PM

This interpretation of repair has inspired me. Tonight I will repair my coffee table by nailing a water melon to one side and a stuffed ferret to the other.

#2 Posted by Clarinda on 14 May 2019 at 17:19 PM

The adjacent corner is subject to a planning application by Barratt Homes and this street of Leith towards the docks could really use some development.


I personally like this proposal - it's quirky, modern and adds something to the street which right now isn't great.

More importantly it's better than some previous proposals...

#3 Posted by HMR on 15 May 2019 at 07:56 AM

Interesting detail, having a chimney as a boundary wall. Let's hope none of the flats have stoves.

#4 Posted by Neil McAllister on 15 May 2019 at 13:44 PM

I think this really works in a strange way. I'd want to make the entrance door a bit more prominent rather than looking like a secondary fire escape and the junction detail will be critical. I think probably it would be best if this steps slightly forward from the existing building line to properly act as a stop end. But these are all things that can be dealt with as the detailing is developed.

#5 Posted by John Grant on 17 May 2019 at 10:31 AM

'dark exterior brickwork' - dictated by years of coal. Condemns the area for the foreseeable future to a dull mass - a cloudy raining winter day needs some more inspiring thinking to enliven that particular sector of our environment.

#6 Posted by Stylecouncil on 18 May 2019 at 09:55 AM

Typical attempt to over-intellectualise adding an extra storey to an apartment block.

#7 Posted by Cadmonkey on 19 May 2019 at 13:27 PM

The lift over run isn’t shown, on the visual or the drawings.
This will be very prominent on the selected view. What is more it will take the roofline higher than the neighbours chimney stacks, which won’t comply with regs.
The neighbours chimney stack will need to be raised. Ahem...cough....
A lift plant room would also be a good idea.
A good example of ill-considered shapemaking architecture without having a clear understanding of the impact technical design will have on it.

Post your comments