Winter 2024

The Macmillan Hub in Muirhouse consists of four functions and two clients. The nursery, housing and library design for the City of Edinburgh Council has been handed over and all three elements are fully occupied. The fourth element, North Edinburgh Arts should be handed over on February 2025, The pictures show from top left, the library, one of the nursery school cloakrooms and the rooftop housing.

The project is progressing with technical design and co-ordination underway with the Design Team ahead of conclusion of Stage 4 planned for early in the new year.

A further round of investigative works is being undertaken to inform the technical proposals and de-risk the project through gaining information around existing rock levels and earlier alterations made to the building to assist with the technical design stage. 

The image shows the now re-opened historic door position at the south of the Main Hall which will be re-instated as part of the proposed works. This will provide views out of the performance space towards Salisbury Crags and provide safe access to the Portico Terrace.

A video of the project issued by the Royal High School Preservation Trust can be viewed here. 
 

The interior spaces are starting to take shape with good progress being made on fittings and finishes, outside the landscape works around the building have started. Completion is due early in 2025.

Work is progressing steadily at Papple, all parts of phase 2.1 will be wind and watertight by the end of the year.  The images show (top left) the refurbished stable area, top right, the steel balustrades to the new internal staircase and lower photograph, shows the two storey circular library which will have a rotating steel staircase to allow users to get to the upper shelves. The library will be available to a number of organisations including the East Lothian Antiquarian and Field Naturalist's Society (EFLANS). 

On the 16 October Richard was in conversation with Dr Sam Gallacher, Director of the Scottish Historic Building Trust (SHBT) and, our client for Custom House, Leith. The event at their headquarters in Riddles Court was entitled Challenging Conservation and was the first in a series of six conversations with professional thinkers from Scotland and beyond, designed to debate questions designed to challenge the practices of conservation and to interrogate the assumptions that underly them.

Richard gave a talk about the evolution of the Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries building, in the building itself, to the Heritage Trusts Network Conference on 29th September.  Delegates came from all over the UK and Richard explained the long and complex story behind the evolution of this award winning design. (Image copyright of James Walker Photography)

Open to the public for the first time, Richard’s home, (RIBA UK Home of the Year in 2016), in Hart Street, attracted an extraordinary number of visitors. Although the house has featured on television several times, at least 800 people were keen to experience it first hand, some waiting over half an hour to gain entry The queue started at 9.00am and the last visitor left at 6.00pm with non-stop guided tours in between. Everyone was universally positive about the experience, including an exhausted Richard!