18 C O N T E X T 1 3 6 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 Innovative designs for student schemes had materials from sheer steel cliffs to industrial-style timber.Two steel blocks exhibited a height, scale and appearance overwhelming in the street-scene. Others successfully replicated pre-existing internal ‘streets’, such as ‘Sugarhouse Close’ – a 300-bed complex, mimicking the historic grain left by a maze of former brewery buildings. It could have been private-sector housing in anyone’s book. Listed buildings sit among the new, including the A-listed Moray House summerhouse, where the Act of Union was reputedly signed in 1707. Next, ECCI, Edinburgh’s £10 million scheme to create the world’s most sustainable listed building. Built in 1777, Burke and Hare brought their victims to the surgeons here when it was the anatomical school. The first refurbished building achieving the BREEAM outstanding award at design stage, it aims to cultivate the knowledge, enterprise and skills required to create a low-carbon economy. It is a refreshing joyful renewal of historic buildings, instead of the usual demolishand-new-build sustainability model. There was a welcome tea stop at the new council offices, Waverley Court, completed in 2007 but unfortunately already outgrown. David Givan gave a highly visual presentation on the Edinburgh Urban Design Panel, formed in 2009. One of just four panels in Scotland, it complements the work of Architecture and Design Scotland, which reviews national and major schemes across Scotland. Panel representatives go down to local civic societies. It reports on major schemes, aiming for excellence in architectural design. Five years on it is a valuable tool for wrestling with new design in this iconic built landscape. The big issue now is the Caltongate scheme on a massive site off the Royal Mile stretching to the bottom of Calton Hill (Rory Bremner’s favourite vantage point). A former gas works, its 2008 master plan was fortunately revisited thanks largely to the economic nosedive. The latest £150 million mixed-use scheme includes a public square with active frontages, shops, houses and two hotels. It is considered an improvement on the first scheme, which prompted a visit from UNESCO inspectors. The five-star hotel and conference centre are gone. Listed buildings remain. Height and bridging buildings will be dropped, and views to Calton Hill better preserved. Yet dozens of eminent authors and artists have condemned the scheme and pointed the finger at the city planners. The people of Edinburgh are making themselves heard. Public criticism of new architecture abounds. The architects of the Hotel Missoni are accused of conforming to the demands of Edinburgh’s planners. Googling Hotel Missoni will enable you to judge if it is a polite response to its location just off the Royal Mile. Sue Howard Pollock Halls seen from the foot of Arthur’s Seat: the Edinburgh University campus provided the main venue for the annual school The formerVictorian baths in Infirmary Street now house the weaving room, gallery and offices of Dovecot Studios. (Photo: Charles Strang) Steven Robb with a cutting from the Edinburgh Evening News commenting on the Caltongate development (Photo: Charles Strang)
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