Blackhall Housing Development
Edinburgh

Gareth Hoskins Architects were commissioned by house builders MacTaggart + Mickel to design a contemporary residential development on a sensitive heavily wooded site in the heart of a North West Edinburgh suburb.

GHA proposed two identical units, each comprising six spacious apartments and a penthouse with a roof terrace, inserted into the woodland so as to minimise tree loss and linked to a large shared resident’s garden by a meandering wooded path. The proposal was one of the first to be submitted under Edinburgh City Council’s Sustainability Standard and so, as well as strategic orientation, high levels of insulation and sustainable materials, the development was to be heated by a communal ground sourced heat pump. The bulk of each unit was reduced by splitting them into discrete blocks, one finished in a dark blue brindled brick and the other horizontal timber cladding, separated by glazed stairs and circulation.