DEACONESS HOUSE

EDINBURGH

The site is located to the east of the city of Edinburgh within the South Side Conservation Area adjoining the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat. The sensitive location is clearly visible from the park at high level. The 334 room student housing scheme combines the refurbishment of Deaconess House, a former Lothian Trust hospital, with the development of three new buildings focussed around a central private courtyard. The proposal is to demolish the disused library and Nurses residency to create a more legible and defined development. The primary entrance and common facilities are located within the existing building with student rooms generally designed to be double aspect clusters apartments with limited individual studios. The massing is sensitive to the retention of strategic local public views looking east towards the Crags and makes reference to recreating the historic character of the figure ground street pattern. The public realm stone facades are expressed as ‘hole in wall’ in direct respect to the local context. In contrast the metal and glass shifted geometric internal courtyard compositions are abstract and more expressive of the college environment.