Quartermile Offices


Commercial Office Design
Quartermile Three and Four

Design and detail examples for two speculative office blocks totaling 17,350m² and 12,650m² achieving a BREEAM Very Good rating.

Architect: Foster + Partners
Client: Quartermile Ventures Limited
Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine

Awards
2017 Scottish Property Awards - Nominee, Architectural Excellence (commercial)
2017 Scottish Property Awards - Nominee, Development of the Year (commercial)
2016 What House? Awards - Gold, Best Mixed Use Development




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LOS ANGELES


LOS ANGELES
Photographs of a few houses I visited in California

The Bailey House by Pierre Koenig, 1958, Hollywood
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HIDDEN DOOR ART FESTIVAL


HIDDEN DOOR ART FESTIVAL 
Selected artist with Nicholas Taggart

Installation of 8,640 litres of expanded polystyrene void former


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INSTALLATION 002



The Ideal Hut Show

Brief:
To adapt a common garden shed to sit within a 'street' of 20 others, designed by architects from around the world as part of a travelling exhibition for the Festival of Architecture 2016



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HOUSE 003 STAGE 2 DESIGN

 

Rothwell House 003
Design and planning submission for a 300m², 5 bed family home, situated in Aberdeen.

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QUARTERMILE UPDATE #14


QUARTERMILE UPDATE #14
Sydney Mitchell rooftops. Built 1890, renovated 2016.

QUARTERMILE UPDATE #13


QUARTERMILE UPDATE #13
View from the new office terrace looking out over the Pentlands, past the penthouse of one of the new residential towers.

SMALL DRAWINGS OF A LARGE HOUSE #2



SMALL DRAWINGS OF A LARGE HOUSE #2

SMALL DRAWINGS OF A LARGE HOUSE


SMALL DRAWINGS OF A LARGE HOUSE
300m² NIA
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SCOTTISH SCENIC ROUTES - PHASE THREE





SCOTTISH SCENIC ROUTES PHASE THREE
The Devil's Elbow, Glenshee
Competition Website

A site specific response to a brief requiring a roadside installation. It proposes a ‘sharing’ table and references forms found in the immediate context, such as the remains of the Allt a’Choire Dhirich Bridge (part of the old military road) and anti-tank cubes. The aims was to create a communal place passers by could rest and enjoy the landscape. Referencing the few man made elements found close by creates an opportunity to educate people about the fascinating social history of what would otherwise seem a beautiful yet barren wilderness. These 'found forms' relate directly to colourful episodes in the history of Scotland and thus provide a unique opportunity to mark out the site.
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UPDATES IN ARCHITECTURAL MANAGEMENT


UPDATES IN ARCHITECTURAL MANAGEMENT

I was delighted to be invited to give a short presentation themed: 'Collaborative Working in Design and Build' as part of the ECA's Part III short course.

SITOOTERIE


SITOOTERIE [sit - oot - ery] noun, a place to sit out in
RIBAJ MICROARCHITECTURE AWARD
Competition Website

Inspired by Le Corbusier’s Cabanon, the ‘Sitooterie’ offers a small retreat where two people can eat, rest and sleep. It seeks to provide an immersive experience with the landscape while offering comfort and protection.

The self-supporting structure allows the cabin to be fully moveable, while the glazed screen can be orientated to take full advantage of the setting and environmental factors.
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QUARTERMILE UPDATE #12



QUARTERMILE UPDATE #12

Standing on the top level of the new office at Quartermile, looking over to Arthur's Seat. Steel frame complete, metal decking to follow. Amazing to experience how fast and controlled this stage of construction can be!

KINETIC FAÇADE 01


KINETIC FAÇADE 01
Folded mild-steel panels are suspended by stainless-steel wire rope so that they are free to move in the wind. Welded pegs accentuate the movement while the spacing allows for 'glimpses' through the metalwork as the panels pivot. A soft chiming noise is created and a counterweight at the bottom acts as a damper in stronger weather.

Possible building façade / sculpture? More photos below.
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EDINBURGH SKYLINE


EDINBURGH SKYLINE

A few panoramas from the top of the St James centre in Edinburgh.
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QUARTERMILE UPDATE #11



QUARTERMILE UPDATE #11

Standing atop the residential tower, 11 stories high, as it nears completion. The glazed 'lantern'sits between the Edinburgh Castle, Arthur's Seat and The Meadows. You can see the south section of the lower 'finger' building on the left. This will be the third residential block I've been on site to see through to completion and am looking forward to the next three!

SCOTTISH SCENIC ROUTES - PHASE TWO


GLENSHEE SHELTER
SCOTTISH SCENIC ROUTES PHASE TWO
Competition Website

BRIEF
To create a  point of interest along the old military road just prior to the Glenshee Ski Centre. It would be one of a series of structures forming a ‘Scenic Route’ throughout the highlands to enhance Scotland’s tourism provision. It encourages the experience of the landscape, complimenting the context by reflecting the “Human, Enduring and Dramatic” aspects of the site.
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MOVED TO CARE COMPETITION


MOVED TO CARE - BUILDING TRUST INTERNATIONAL
SHORTLISTED

Competition in collaboration with Nicola Jackson from Subtil Design
Competition Website
Facebook link to shortlisted entry

BRIEF
"To design a small relocatable healthcare facility that promotes health and well-being in a safe and clean environment. The design should respond to the tropical environment in some of the poorest nations to provide a sustainable solution, keeping capital and maintenance costs low to increase the potential of multiple projects being realised."


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COLLABORATIVE : CONSTRUCTS



Logo design, Adobe After Effects
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UPDATE #10


UPDATE #10

The fist two residential buildings I've been working on are now fully occupied! Pictured on a cold Scottish winters morning.

UPDATE #9

UPDATE #9

Watched the steel get lifted into place today, the connections we drew better be right!

RESOURCE AND FEE CALCULATOR


RESOURCE AND FEE CALCULATOR VERSION 2.6
R.I.B.A. PART III STUDY TEMPLATE - UPDATED


Developed for the RIBA Part 3 exam, we built this as a guide to answering a variety of Fee and Resource Questions. Please feel free to download, edit and forward any feedback!
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THE HYDRO



THE SECC HYDROGLASGOW

A few pictures from several site visits to the new concert arena next to the River Clyde.
Foster + Partners Project Description

GLASGOW WETLANDS BRIDGE COMPETITION




GLASGOW WETLANDS BRIDGE COMPETITION
Collaboration with Nicola Jackson from Subtil Design - Competition Website

This competition was run by the Glasgow Institute of Architects, Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership and the Central Scotland Green Network. The Brief was to create a 'green' bridging structure connecting the parkland bisected by the M73 Motorway. It's function was to be part bridge, part environmental link and part educational while acting as a sign post for the park's visitor centre.
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GLASGOW WETLANDS BRIDGE COMPETITION - BRIDGE ISOMETRIC


GLASGOW WETLANDS BRIDGE COMPETITION - BRIDGE ISOMETRIC

GLASGOW WETLANDS BRIDGE COMPETITION - SECTIONAL BAY STUDY



GLASGOW WETLANDS BRIDGE COMPETITION - SECTIONAL BAY STUDY

Quartermile | Residential


Residential Development
New Meadows, Quartermile 

Designed by Foster + Partners, Quartermile is one of the largest and most comprehensive regeneration schemes in Scotland. Formerly the home of the historic Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the 8-hectare site is located within a conservation area on Edinburgh’s Victorian fringes and includes nine listed buildings. It lies between the heart of the city and the parkland of the Meadows and falls within a central area of Edinburgh that was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.

New construction is combined with the selective refurbishment of the historic buildings, with the new woven carefully into the grain of the old. The development provides housing, office space, a five-star hotel, restaurants, cafés and shops.

The current phase consists of 370 luxury apartments over 6 buildings (New Meadows) and two new office blocks (Quartermile Two and Four) with an area of 8,300m² and 17,350m² respectively.

Architect: Foster + Partners
Client: Quartermile Ventures Limited
Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine


LINKS







VENICE URBAN FORUM



VENICE URBAN FORUM
Final Year Thesis

The program is fundamentally a response to the site, a relationship with the immediate location and an attitude towards the urban fabric. 

The building borrows from the Venetian typology of a Palazzo, a sequence of intimate spaces cumulating in a forum for organisations such as 'Venice In Peril' to discuss the city's ecological issues. The programme also creates a new Piazzetta, an external public 'room' akin to the larger Piazza San Marco. 

A suspended metal ramp winds its way up the south façade of an adjoining Palazzo. It is screened by aluminium fins, hung with steel wires that twist in the wind. This forms one elevation of the 'Urban Room' while the West vista opens up to the Grand Canal and the ground plain dips into the water. These 'interventions' are inspired by the long and intricate Venetian culture of pattern and kinship with it's environment. 

The architecture of the building hopes to broadcast the ecological, social and cultural issues facing the city to tourist and resident alike. Intern, this encourages a cross-fertilisation of ideas to the widest demographic or in other words, an urban approach to crowd-sourcing the city's ecological agenda.
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