Figgate Street

Car-free living in Portobello Conservation Area, Edinburgh.

The development offers 6 no. flats for sale.

Urban Response

With its 3 storeys the development defines the streetscape of Figgate Street with a frontage aligned with the adjacent existing buildings.

The studio flats have the living areas facing the street - giving a positive, lively relationship with the public space. In addition, an active street frontage is promoted by providing main door access to the ground floor 2-bed flat and to the communal courtyard directly from the street.

The new blocks of flats also enclose a new protected amenity space.

A simple palette of good quality materials is proposed with the dominant use of red facing brick.

The use of a dark grey coated metal beam framing the ground floor openings on the street side - including doors, windows and gates - links the 2 blocks of flats and acts as a continuous active ground floor for the development. This approach enhances the streetscape and provides a unique character of cohesion to the proposal. As part of one comprehensive approach vertical timber battens cover different functions throughout the street elevation; they act as window louvres, cladding, main gate, landscape