Award winner for best mixed-use development
On the Tron
Buredi, the joint-venture company set up by the Burrell Company and the EDI Group in 1998, has featured in these awards before, having won the award for Best Apartment Building with its Coalhill mixed-use development in Leith in 2002 designed by Allan Murray Architects. Three years on it has won the award for
another mixed-use development that was the subject of a limited architectural competition among 20 selected Scottish firms of architects, organised by Buredi for the redevelopment of Tron Square, an historic area in the Old Town of Edinburgh just off the Royal Mile, which included listed buildings, council housing, a multi-storey car park and some vacant sites.
The competition caused considerable debate among the judges (who included Piers Gough and Janet Street-Porter) about the design and uses of buildings in the area, and although the original intention had been to have only one winner, it was agreed that the runner-up, Allan Murray, should be awarded the commission to design a new nursery school and secure playground on the site immediately behind the Burrell Company’s offices in the Royal Mile. This had always been the initial idea behind the competition, but it became the key to unlocking all the regeneration projects that have now taken place in the Tron area.
The competition to replace the multi-storey car park was won by Richard Murphy Architects with a pair of narrow buildings fronting on to Old Fishmarket Close. The new nursery was constructed by Buredi and is managed by the City of Edinburgh Council. The original nursery in Cowgate was demolished to make way for a new residential development for Castle Rock Housing Association above shops and offices developed by the EDI Group. Castle Rock also restored the former “People’s Palace” as offices and special-needs flats. The City of Edinburgh improved the council housing in Tron Square and made improvements to public spaces in the area, and 1 Parliament Square was restored to provide new district law courts, 15 apartments,
and shops and offices.
The whole regeneration of the Tron Square area was completed in June 2004 with the two Richard Murphy buildings illustrated here, which have 24 apartments and offices and a café on the ground floor. The benefits to the area have been considerable, with the new enlarged nursery school standing as a symbol of the regeneration of the community.
The innovative approach necessary to deliver these projects involved an enlightened approach to property development., which bodes well for future regeneration projects in Edinburgh.
HomeBuilder: BUREDI LIMITED
a joint venture between:
THE BURRELL COMPANY LIMITED
174 High Street, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 1QS
Tel 0131 220 3040 Fax 0131 220 2545
Contact: John Forbes, Director
Email: john@theburrellcompany.co.uk
Website: www.theburrellcompany.co.uk
and
THE EDI GROUP LIMITED
Dolphin House, 4 Hunter Square, Edinburgh EH1 1QW
Tel 0131 220 4424 Fax 0131 220 4425
Contact: Ian Wall, Chief Executive
Email: ian@edigroupscotland.co.uk
Website: www.edigroupscotland.co.uk
Architects: RICHARD MURPHY ARCHITECTS
15 Old Fishmarket Close, Edinburgh EH1 1RW
Tel 0131 220 6125 Fax 0131 220 6781
Contact: Richard Murphy, Principal
Email: mail@richardmurphyarchitects.co.uk
Website: www.richardmurphyarchitects.co.uk
