03 _ Easterbush Campus

Easterbush campus is located south of Edinburgh city centre in Roslin. LDA Design was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh to undertake a landscape and public realm strategy for the campus which includes the design of a new central ‘Academic Plaza’. The ‘Academic Plaza’ links the new Centre Building with the Roslin Institute and new Large Animals Facility in a single unified plane at the heart of the campus.

With over 40,000 square metres of new accommodation built, there are now just less than 2000 staff, students and visitors to the campus and the occupancy and footfall within the campus is set to increase significantly as the campus continues to expand over the next 20 years. LDA Design has worked closely with the university to develop proposals which form part of a wider landscape and public realm strategy which will shape the future of the campus.

Atkins’ new Centre Building forms the central hub of the campus. The plaza setting creates a new centralised civic space which can be used for ceremonies and events, centred around a unique water feature and sculptural beacon. The vision for the public realm was to create an elegant, uncluttered, pedestrian-focused space that would improve the setting and provide a central point and new identity for the campus.