To create a contemporary, collegiate style, development of 170 high quality student beds on the site of the old 19th century Gateway Theatre – a derelict triangular site bounded on all sides by 5-storey tenements and accessed via an unsightly tenement gap.
The new development provides an attractive infill block and two-four-storey blocks of one, two and three bedroom flats around an open central space. Responding to Edinburgh City Council’s requirement for a sympathetic design that addressed the scarring of the established playfair streetscape, the architects chose a simple palette of materials with natural stone to the main street façade to complement the existing tenements and Throckley Smooth Grey to the internal elevation. To contrast the dark sandstone, Oyster White smooth wirecut facing bricks were chosen to present a bright, reflective appearance to the courtyard buildings, creating a bright and peaceful sanctuary in stark contrast to the previous dark and overdeveloped visual.
