Redesigned proposals submitted for former Edinburgh Royal High School

3 Sep 2015

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gareth hoskins

edinburgh

New designs for a £75 million hotel to be built at the former Royal High School on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill have been submitted after a public consultation “fundamentally altered” the initial plans.

A proposed design for a 160-room development released in March was criticised from heritage groups for being too modern and not blending into the surrounding area.

Architect Gareth Hoskins said the new 147-room proposals will create a “new, world-class hotel”, which is expected to create 260 jobs.

He added: “This follows a comprehensive pre-planning consultation process, carried out over the last 18 months, during which we have engaged with the public and a range of stakeholders, taken on-board comments received and, as a result, fundamentally altered our designs for the better.

“The design focuses around an informed restoration of the central Hamilton-designed building, repairing its decaying fabric and maintaining the strong sculptural presence of its frontage without intervention. The existing building will be entirely given over to the public areas of the new hotel allowing its spaces to be fully accessible for the first time in the building’s history.

“Set away from the original building are two new wings containing the hotel’s bedrooms. Their organic shape with landscaped terraces and undulating copper façade, inspired by the layered volcanic landscape of both Calton Hill and nearby Salisbury Crags, allow the new wings to blend with the surrounding hill.

“The contrast of the form and colour of the new elements, together with the considered approach to the landscaping of not just the site but the streetscape around the former high school, allow this hugely important building to retain and reinforce its prominence as a key Edinburgh landmark.

“The proposed design will create not only a setting appropriate to the stature of the building but, along with other initiatives such as Collective Gallery within the observatory, it should also bring about a level of change that allows Calton Hill to once again become an active and vibrant destination and place within Scotland’s capital city.”