XXIII Ravelston Terrace in Edinburgh, UK by Allan Murray Architects
November 30th, 2009 - Posted in Architecture Award, Architecture Design
Designed by , the XXIII Ravelston Terrace is a modern contemporary residential building with 59 apartments, penthouses and duplexes as well as large town houses that located in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. The XXIII Ravelston Terrace that the prize-winning residence as the Residential Bronze Award at the 2009 Roses Design Awards is transformed from a 1970’s concrete frame and brick frame office block building was originally designed by Roland Wedgwood Architects to be Croythorn House in Edinburgh upon request from Sundial Properties and Kilmartin Property Group. The property had one saving grace, but located on the ridge of a hill with spectacular views across the city possibly only eclipsed by the views from Edinburgh Castle itself.
The existing shell was retained with the addition of a new 3 metre zone to the side of the frame to locate stairs and lifts in line with its new function and era. An elegant external glazing design with balconies was developed to respect the horizontal nature of the main building as well as solid towers to the north and south elevations to maintain the “bookend” vertical towers. The series of balconies and glass walls take advantage of the views and give external space to each of the properties.
The additional depth of the new structure on the west allows the formation of a distinctive curved facade out of which the troughs of the curve form deeper balcony areas relating to the west facing living rooms on this elevation. The peaks of the wave wall accommodate the three new stair and lift cores that serve the flats. The continuous cantilevered glass balustrade present on the east is also repeated on the west elevation. The light on these new facades creates a very dramatic play of light and shadow. The previous tarmaced car park area has been excavated and two lower levels of underground car parking have been inserted. The new level created above this has been designed by John Richards Landscape Architects as a new community garden an amenity for the residents but also returning more green space to the area.
XXIII Ravelston Terrace exterior glass walls facade building and green space
XXIII Ravelston Terrace exterior facade contemporary residential property
XXIII Ravelston Terrace interior dining and kitchen residential building award
XXIII Ravelston Terrace interior residential building with balcony areas
concrete and brick frame office block building in Edinburgh
Allan Murray Architects says “The (original) building consisted of a series of long horizontal stripes of glass and brown brickwork to the east and west elevations with solid brown brick core towers to the north and south elevations. The elevation treatment of the 3rd level had a slight recess. The top floor had full height glazing. The car park was significant in size and provided a very poor quality environment. Internally, the office building no longer reflected the high demands placed on modern office accommodation – it was inflexible, had narrow plans, low floor to ceiling heights and poor environmental conditions”
