September 20 2021

The Edinburgh offices of ARUP are to be repurposed as 'homes set in woodland' with the construction giant set to vacate their B-listed premises later this autumn.

Property developer AMA New Town have appointed a design team including Kettle Collective, Rankin Fraser and ARUP themselves to oversee the work, which includes conversion of the existing Scotstoun House office and removal of extensions completed by haa design in 2010 for £3.5m.

Purpose-built by the construction consultancy in 1965 following the demolition of a Georgian mansion the pavilion-style parkland offices were designed by Peter Foggo of ARUP to encompass views of the remaining walled garden and generous lawns.

Located alongside the approach road to the Queensferry Crossing the estate lies in a rapidly expanding suburban area within a mature landscape setting. The plans will see the main office transformed into eight homes with a further 17 villas and townhouses rising in the 20ha grounds.

New additions will comprise a mix of timber and acrylic white render in a complementary style to the modernist main building with additional planting helping to screen residents from a busy arterial road.

In a statement, the applicants wrote: "The vision for the Scotstoun House development is to create ‘homes set in woodland’ around an open green space. The proposed site layout draws inspiration from the original Georgian house site, which was split, into a formal landscaped area and a screened service area along a north/south line to the western walled garden boundary."

Redevelopment is likely to commence by mid-2022 for completion in 2024.

1 Comment

#1 Posted by Fitz Hat on 24 Sep 2021 at 10:13 AM

This is a real shame. I have been hugely impressed by the Arup offices when I've visited. It looks like a wonderful environment to work in, even at 50+ years old. The extension looked sympathetic as well. This seems like a great loss.

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