LBA have created a pod hostel in a listed building that was originally designed as police chambers with holding cells and courtroom facilities. Called 1a Parliament Square after its location in Edinburgh’s Old Town, the project was commissioned by Code, a hostel operator that accommodates its guests in sleep pods. LBA managing director Lynsay Bell Manson said: "It was clear from the early stages of the project that the building’s

The Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel – formerly the Principal Edinburgh Charlotte Square – has opened in Edinburgh, Scotland. Overhauled by London-based studio Goddard Littlefair, who also led the Principal's award-winning £25m (US$32.7m, €29.1m) outfitting in 2017, the hotel features 184 rooms and 15 suites, plus a spa, gym, and BABA bar. Other offers at the Grade II-listed retreat include in-room yoga mats and free fitness classes. Managed by luxury hospitality

Plans to replace the historic Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh with a modern £47m sports centre will be discussed by the City of Edinburgh Council next month. Two planning applications have been filed for the stadium, which was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games. One application proposes a new £47m sports centre to replace the original venue, while the other lays out plans for a mixed-use redevelopment of the wider site,

A blueprint designed to create a sustainable tourism model for, and to protect, the world heritage of Edinburgh has been revealed, with the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh World Heritage and Historic Environment Scotland uniting to develop the five-year masterplan. Edinburgh is made up of two distinct areas – the Old Town and the New Town. The former is dominated by a medieval fortress, while the latter has been developed

The latest design proposals for David Chipperfield’s 1,000-capacity concert hall in Edinburgh – the city’s first in 100 years – have been publicly revealed for the first time. The venue, situated behind the historic Dundas House at 36 St Andrew Square, will be the permanent home of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) – with a “world class” auditorium and recital and recording space “to rival the best in Europe.” In

An international design team led by US architects wHY have won the international competition to design the £25m Ross Pavilion and West Princes Street Gardens project in Edinburgh. The Ross Development Trust together with the City of Edinburgh Council are replacing a bandstand on the site, which has fallen into disrepair, with a new visitor centre, café and flexible platform for cultural programming. The surrounding landscape is also being improved.

Seven diverse proposals from the design teams vying to create a new ampitheatre and pavilion in the heart of Edinburgh have been revealed to the public. The new landmark Ross Pavilion is intended to revitalise Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens, one of the city’s most emblematic places, and the shortlisted groups were tasked with submitting visions of “exemplary design quality inspired by, and appropriate to, the significance of its setting.”

David Chipperfield has overcome stiff competition to win the high-profile design competition to create a 1,000-capacity concert hall in Edinburgh. Adjaye Associates, Richard Murphy, Allies & Morrison, Barozzi Veiga and KPMB were all in contention for the commission, but the vision outlined by Chipperfield's practice was enough to sway the developers of the £45m (US$58.1m, €53.2m) venue; the city’s first new performance building in 100 years. The concert hall has

Seven architecture studios have made it on to the final shortlist to design a new theatre in the heart of Edinburgh – the £25m Ross Pavilion and Gardens project. The studios in contention are: • Adjaye Associates (UK) • BIG Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark) • Flanagan Lawrence (UK) • Page Park Architects (UK) • Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter (Norway) • wHY (USA) • William Matthews Associates (UK) and Sou Fujimoto Architects

Adjaye Associates, David Chipperfield, Richard Murphy, Allies & Morrison, Barozzi Veiga and KPMB have been announced as the architects who will compete to design a multi-purpose concert hall and arts centre for Edinburgh. The high-profile shortlist has been announced by IMPACT Scotland, the charitable trust overseeing the major cultural project in the city’s St Andrew Square. In total, 69 international firms expressed interest in the project after it was announced

Architects, designers and acoustic experts have been invited to express their interest in creating a world-class arts centre and concert hall in the heart of Scotland’s capital Edinburgh. The venue has been proposed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO), which is seeking a new permanent home, and the charitable trust IMPACT Scotland. The facility would be built in St Andrew Square, with a 1,000 seat auditorium at its heart “combining

Residents of Scottish capital city Edinburgh are being asked to have their say on an ambitious rebuild of the existing Meadowbank Stadium and Sport Centre. The City of Edinburgh Council will submit a planning application early next year for the redevelopment, which is expected to cost in the region of £40m (US$50.5m, €46.4m) and is being designed by Glasgow architects Holmes Miller. Among the proposals for the complex are: an

A proposal by architect Richard Murray to transform one of Edinburgh’s most beloved landmarks into a concert hall and music school seems likely to go ahead after planning officials threw their weight behind the scheme. The former home of the Royal High School on Calton Hill is a neoclassical listed building designed by architect Thomas Hamilton in the 1820s. The question of how best to preserve the site has proven

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced it will debut its W Hotels brand in Scotland at the 12-storey ‘ribbon’ building designed by Jestico + Whiles in the heart of Edinburgh. The striking building – which has proven controversial due to its eye-catching steel facade and mooted location in the centre of the historic city – is set to complete in 2020. It will be the centrepiece of the Edinburgh St

Work has begun on a new £20m (US$29m, €26m) four-star hotel in Edinburgh’s Old Town, marking a milestone in hotel operator Carlton’s ambitions to provide more luxury accommodation in the city. The 98-room boutique hotel has been designed by local studio JMArchitects and interior designers FG Stijl. It will transform a key under-used site on Market Street, located next to Craig’s Close, which has remained vacant for more than 50

Plans to turn Edinburgh’s neoclassical Old Royal High School into a luxury hotel have been turned down at the first vote by the city council. Developers Duddingston House Properties and Urbanist Hotels had proposed a £75m (US$115m, €102m) project to restore and convert the listed 1820s property – which has stood vacant for almost 50 years on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill – into a 147-bedroom Rosewood hotel featuring two newly-constructed, landscaped

Hoskins Architects will design a new Rosewood hotel at Edinburgh's former Royal High School, a historic landmark building on Calton Hill in the centre of the Scottish capital that has stood vacant for almost 50 years. The neoclassical, listed building was originally designed by architect Thomas Hamilton and completed in 1829. The plan to invest more than £75m ($115m, €102m) to restore and convert the property is led by Duddingston

Jestico + Whiles have won planning permission for an egg-shaped hotel wrapped in bronze coils – the centrepiece of a major development in Edinburgh, UK, – despite planning officials urging councillors to reject the idea. The five-star hotel will feature up to 210 bedrooms, as well as a 41,000sq ft (3,809sq m) apart hotel that has the potential to provide 70 suites. The practice envisages a hotel that appears as

Planning permission has been granted for a major mixed-use development in Edinburgh, UK, which will see a luxury hotel, 30 restaurants and a multi-screen cinema created. Allan Murray Architects and BDP masterplanned the £850m ($1.3bn, €1.2bn) Edinburgh St James scheme which is located in a World Heritage Site at the Scottish city’s St James Quarter. The five-star hotel, designed by London-based Jestico & Whiles as the centrepiece of the project,

Work is expected to start in October on designs from New York-based Grzywinski + Pons in conjunction with Michael Laird Architects for a £35m (US$53m, €47m) boutique hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. Hotel developer Union Hanover Securities has secured Minded to Grant planning permission from City of Edinburgh Council and will now push ahead with bringing the 180-room hotel project on Freer Street to fruition. The developer sees Edinburgh as a

International architecture and design firm Jestico + Whiles (J+W) has been appointed by TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate) to design a luxury hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Edinburgh St. James Hotel will act as the centrepiece of the overarching St. James development. With a price tag of £850m (€1.1m, $1.3m), the project is retail-led with the aim of transforming leisure in the Scottish capital. Once complete it will

Edinburgh’s imposing Royal High School could be transformed into a multi-million pound arts hotel under new plans outlined by developers. Proposals from Duddingston House Properties (DHP) detail a development plan – designed by architect Gareth Hoskins – backed by £55m ($86m, €70m) from a consortium of institutional investors led by DHP’s Bruce Hare and David Orr of the Urbanist Group. Hoskins was appointed to oversee a major four-year refurbishment of

A new boutique hotel, which can be booked in its entirety for up to 22 guests, has opened opposite Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Owned by the G1 Group - which also operates Central Hotel, Grassmarket Hotel and Bank Hotel - Murrayfield House has been designed by Jim Hamilton to create a homely ambience. Features include vintage furniture from India, light fittings from Holland and chairs from Paris, as well as

The Caledonian, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland is set to launch the UK's first Guerlain Spa on 1 January, following a £24m (US$38m, 30m euro) redevelopment of the property. Managed by Hilton Worldwide, the hotel's spa will be operated as a beauty spa and be open to both hotel guests and non-guests. Facilities at the spa include three large treatment rooms, a swimming pool, steamroom, sauna, spa pool

Image: Duncan Hendry/Richard Lewis at King's Theatre City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has unveiled the new-look King's Theatre following the completion of an initial £2.6m refurbishment of the historic cultural venue. Historic Scotland and The Nancie Massey Trust funded the project in conjunction with the local authority, with work starting in September 2011 and including "essential" repairs. Structural engineers Will Rudd; mechanical and electrical engineers Rybka; and architects Smith Scott

Edinburgh's Royal Commonwealth Pool, which will host the diving competition during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, has officially reopened following an £37m refurbishment. Leisure specialists S&P Architects are behind the design of the new-look complex, with the scheme involving the stripping back of the A-listed building's shell, before it was completely rebuilt. Graham Construction carried out the work on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, with facilities including a 50m,

Plans for a multi-million pound redevelopment of the former Fountain Brewery in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, have been submitted for consideration. Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has lodged plans with the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) for a mixed-use scheme, which is to include a 250-bedroom hotel, restaurants and cafés. Plans drawn up by Allan Murray Architects also incorporate leisure, retail and office provision, along with 760 residential units and 900 student accommodation