Edinburgh College of Art

Site at the heart of Edinburgh

The Edinburgh College of Art campus has a unique central location under the shadow of the southern cliffs of the castle rock and on the edge of the medieval fabric of the city. The site sits within the old town UNESCO World Heritage site as well as the Old Town Conservation Area. The campus enjoys uninterrupted views of the castle from the upper floors of its buildings. This area of the Old Town has a dense and varied development pattern with a large number of small green spaces. The campus courtyard, being larger, is one of the more valued spaces contributing to the local wildlife and amenity within the conservation area

The campus courtyard and external amenity spaces are underutilised and there is a strong desire to design out the challenging existing delivery and traffic management practices. The outdoor spaces are dominated by parking and a mismatch of low quality materials which do not reflect the outstanding historic building asset. The landscape plays a crucial role in uniting the campus of buildings as well as giving it more presence in it’s urban context. As well as being the social heart of the campus, it should be a space for learning, teaching with a choreographed events programme, for its staff, students, and visitors.

Uniting the Campus

A number of objectives and priorities have helped to define the overall project vision for the landscape. The goal is to create a legible and porous external environment which unites the campus of buildings in a way that is accessible for all. The design solution aimed to provide a range of outdoor spaces that are simple, bold and that vary in size and character to provide a rich experience that promotes social and civic inclusion for students, staff and visitors to the campus.

The Heart of the Campus

The design of the College Courtyard was developed in response to the operational and functional landscape requirements of the space. Waste and essential delivery vehicle movements, blue badge parking and the requirement to optimise flexibility from an events perspective provided clear parameters in terms of the size of spaces and the choice of materials.

A terrace and stepped route were added in front of the Fire Station boundary wall to create a linking landscape between the courtyard and the Fire Station. In response to the façade interventions associated with the creation of a student social space in the North-East studio, the landscape was designed to provide a sheltered gathering space enclosed by rain gardens.

Linking Past and Present

The Fire Station rear courtyard was designed to become an integral part of the campus in the new scheme and an important linking space. The architectural refurbishment of the Fire Station includes transforming the engine room in to the main reception space and a first point of contact for visitors who arrive to the campus. This space was envisaged as a primary route into and out of the main quad.

A study of the historical layout revealed that this space used to be populated with a series of stores and outside rooms along the alignment of the original historic wall. The design proposal was to superimpose this layer of history on to the new paving. Granite setts were designed to be treated using a variety of finishing techniques such as bush hammering, chiselling, flaming, and honing to create distinct colour changes that define the walls and rooms in 2D. The position of the former boundary wall is represented by graphic concrete banding.

It was proposed that the new public realm in front of the Fire Station pays a subtle homage to the history of the building. The paving was designed to include linear bands of natural stone paving to mark the zones where fire appliances stood in front of the doors in years gone by.

A strong public interface

The design approach at Lauriston Place is to create a more formal and restrained public realm in keeping with its world heritage context. A greener more intimate space to the east blends into a harder more formal space moving westward. The end goal is to create a public realm that promotes high quality and innovative design, as well as providing a safe and activated space that encourages dwell time. In addition, the design proposals build upon the existing townscape and civic character of the space.

The landscape proposals have been designed to respond to the architectural detailing of the façade as well as the careful integration of the existing steps (to be retained as a heritage asset). The design intent is that the landscape will rise up to engage with the full extent of the new building openings to create a series of partially inhabited planted terraces that soften the heaviness of the building plinth. The raised terraces will provide informal seating edges with the positioning of the single seats and loungers relating to the new elevation and window details.

Space for experimentation

Simple and low cost solutions were provided for both the northern boundary and the Vennel link landscapes. At the northern boundary, out of site from the general public, there is an opportunity to use this space as a practical learning space for both architecture and landscape students. Working with the existing and recycled site won materials as detailed in the reuse section below, could allow for the creation of an experimental area that adds value to the students learning experience.

Designing for Resilience

Whilst the landscape on Lauriston Place was designed to be more formal the desire is that the college courtyard does not feel too corporate. Smaller setts were proposed to provide an informal feel as well as offering complete flexibility and unrestricted access for vehicles as and when it would be required for the staging of outdoor events, and service access.

A Porphyry blended mix was introduced into the scheme. This natural stone offers rich rust tones in combination with greys and buffs that pick up on the red sandstone hues of the buildings. Caithness is proposed for reuse on main public and semi-private pedestrian footways in keeping with the UNESCO World Heritage palette. Caithness strips are proposed to be mixed in with the Porphyry to help blend the material palette together.

Designing for Climate Resilience

The proposal aim to provide a new layer of climate resilient trees offering more diversity to the species mix. The new trees were proposed to replace the existing deteriorating tree stock to provide a lasting legacy for the site. Where existing trees are proposed for removal their felling also offers considerable value in the timber both as a product for creating furniture, cladding or sculptures, but also as deadwood, where fungi and invertebrates can adopt it as new habitat sites in the experimental garden for example.  New trees are a significant part of the making of space and are located strategically across the courtyard and streetscape to frame views, reinforce boundaries and create focal points.

Many of the planting beds were designed to have a multiple function as SuDS features, as places that encourage habitat creation, setting for buildings, and elements which reinforce the new character of the spaces created. The objective of the planting was to provide biodiversity net gain through the introduction of a diverse species mix. On Lauriston Place, planting beds took the form of rain gardens designed to retain and cleanse surface water from the surrounding pavements. A new layer of climate resilient and pollution tolerant trees were designed to sit back from the road edge and provide a more welcoming public realm space.

Space for experimentation

Simple and low cost solutions were provided for both the northern boundary and the Vennel link landscapes. At the northern boundary, out of site from the general public, there is an opportunity to use this space as a practical learning space for both architecture and landscape students. Working with the existing and recycled site won materials as detailed in the reuse section below, could allow for the creation of an experimental area that adds value to the students learning experience.