The Edinburgh Park Western Office is a project initiated by the developer Parabola who asked the practice to carry out a design study for one of the office buildings at their new city quarter, Edinburgh Park; a development that will host living and working but also a cultural destination and creative campus for the Scottish capital. As a developer already pushing the envelope in delivering design led, people-centric places, the scope of the study included exploring the potential to decarbonise the building as far as practicable.
Bennetts Associates is working collaboratively with the client and consultant teams to develop a design for a next generation workplace. The elegant façade design adopts a simple, well-proportioned module which will subtly adapt to respond to the different aspects of each elevation. For the implementation of set targets for energy use and embodied carbon, the team has explored innovative technologies including rammed earth and self-supporting brickwork, and a hybrid of concrete and timber structural frame. Edinburgh Park Western Office will include a street-level entrance which runs the full length of the building and host co-working space, cycle facilities, a café with a south facing outdoor area and direct access to the main stairs.