Competition win: Architects wHY will design cultural pavilion by Edinburgh Castle
– Kulapat Yantrasast, founder and creative director of wHY
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.
Competition organisers Malcolm Reading Consultants led the five-month search for a design team to take the project forward.
In total, there were 125 first-stage submissions. Seven studios were shortlisted, including BIG, Adjaye Associates and William Matthews Associates with Sou Fujimoto Architects, who have been awarded a special commendation by the jury for their proposal.
However, it is wHY’s collective of architects, landscape designers, makers and strategists who have won the unanimous approval of the judges with their vision for “an organic landscape-focused scheme that respects the historic setting but also animates the Gardens through the introduction of a new undulating promenade, transformed access from Princes Street, sculptural seating and dynamic open views.”
The jury praised the team’s concept design as “a beautiful and intensely appealing proposal that complemented, but did not compete with, the skyline of the City and the Castle.”
“We are confident that we have a winning concept that embodies an imaginative ensemble landscape approach, creating a wonderful stage for our iconic Edinburgh Castle,” said jury chair Norman Springford. “The design concept offers a creative energy and a series of unique elements which will all combine to create a new and contemporary landscape.”
Competition director Malcolm Reading added: “wHY is a creative force that has the rare skill of being able to produce design that is exciting yet also sensitive and humane – it is a delight to see them win so exuberantly.
“Their proposal is a landscape scheme that is really more like an energy-field: using animation and drama as well as open vistas, they transform the Gardens and create an experience that is much freer and organic. As is their style, they conscientiously sampled local opinion, and have come up with a design proposal that is engaging and refreshing.
“We would like to thank all the finalists for their hard work and enthusiasm – we were in no doubt over their connection to this wonderful project, and they produced diverse and well-reasoned concept designs.”
The team led by wHY also includes Edinburgh design studio GRAS, Groves-Raines Architects, Arup, Studio Yann Kersalé, O Street, Stuco, Creative Concern, Noel Kingsbury, Atelier Ten and Lawrence Barth.
The group will now work with the Trust, the council, other stakeholders and public to take forward the project. Construction is expected to begin in 2018.
Inspired by the Gardens’ geology and history – from the volcanic forces to the man-made energy of the Victorian pleasure garden – the design subtly positions the new visitor centre and the ‘butterfly’ Pavilion into the folds of the landscape, enabling the Castle to remain the main visual event. The scheme increases the amount of green space relative to hard surfaces within the Gardens and is, in the team’s words, ‘human scale with moments of drama… activating four layers of meaning within the Gardens: botanical, civic, commemorative and cultural.
Kulapat Yantrasast, Founder and Creative Director of wHY, said:
“wHY is built around an ecology of disciplines, the convergence of ideas, experience, nature and people. The Ross Pavilion and West Princes Street Gardens represent this convergence and this was the perfect ground to further our approach to design. To be selected from so many extraordinary thinkers is an honour. We felt a personal connection to the Gardens and believe our design embodies how important collaboration and people are to making a place remarkable.”
Mark Thomann, wHY’s Landscape Design Director, added:
“This is a special opportunity for a special place, not just for Edinburgh but the world. The new Ross Pavilion and Gardens draw from the rich natural history, heritage and creative spirit of Scotland, embodying a model approach for integrating public architecture and urban space in a top global city. Our team looks forward to realising this vision with the Ross Development Trust and the people of Edinburgh.”
Adjaye, Ingels, Ramstad and Fujimoto in the running to design Edinburgh theatre and gardens
Wellness care hospital opens in Vilnius with innovative spa and hospitality concept
Universal and Puy du Fou projects point to rise of Oxford–Cambridge corridor
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’ planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism investment.
For years, the corridor has been associated primarily with science, technology, housing and university-led economic growth. However, the clustering of large-scale visitor attraction projects along the
All-inclusive eco-wellness development Auko to open near Vietnam’s Son Doong caves
Shedd Aquarium upgrades its visitor experience with new Immersion Theater
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional revenue opportunities.
The attraction has transformed the aquarium’s Phelps Auditorium into a multi-sensory venue combining panoramic projection, environmental effects and interactive technology.
A new pre-show area allows visitors to engage with augmented reality marine animals before entering the
MCR is planning a luxury hotel for London's BT Tower
Joy as a radical act: Yinka Ilori launches solo exhibition celebrating the rebellious power of spreading happiness
Work gets underway on Madrid's €800 million leisure complex
Work is underway in Madrid on one of Europe’s most significant multi-functional complexes, combining sport, entertainment, culture and education.
The €800 million initiative to regenerate the former Olympic Aquatic Centre in the north-east of the city, next to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium, is being led by Barsento – a joint venture between Live Nation Entertainment, Oak View Group and Atlético de Madrid. The project will
Therme Manchester reveals 90:90 strategy – 90 per cent of the UK population within a 90-minute drive of a Therme
Four Seasons’ Naples Beach Club opens 2,800sq m Sanctuary spa inspired by indigenous Calusa people
Orient Express Corinthian to host Ocean Rebirth wellness retreat in collaboration with Guerlain
Famed London nightclub, Tramp, launches Tramp Health
First look: Miraval opens on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia
Hainan Science Museum by Ma Yansong, opens in China
A new science museum has opened to the public in Haikou after attracting more than 350,000 visitors during a four-month soft opening period.
Designed by Ma Yansong and his practice MAD Architects, the Hainan Science Museum is located on the edge of Wuyuan River National Wetland Park and has already recorded peak attendance of more than 5,800 visitors in a single day.
Commissioned by
Zannier Île De Bendor launches with design by Hardel Le Bihan Architectes
Sæl Spa readies for launch in London: “a modern British sanctuary”
Immersive art bathhouse Submersive announces debut location in Austin
Construction begins on regenerative wellness destination The Shenandoah Nature Resort
Royal Caribbean reveals record-breaking cruise ship
V&A East opens in London
David Geffen galleries open at LACMA
New venue The Lands by Capella includes a longevity centre to complement sister hotel Capella Sydney
World of Frozen launches at Disneyland Paris
Pical Resort by Valamar reveals first Croatian spa under the ESPA brand
Mandarin Oriental creates end-to-end Egyptian journey with two new hotels and first-ever luxury river cruise
Designers Mendil + Meyer launch new division called Lām Concepts for strategic wellness projects
Wilderness Bisate in Rwanda reveals brand’s second Sanctuary spa
4a Architekten shares details of wellness extension at Salinarium Bad Dürkheim Thermal Spa
BodyHoliday plans 10-15 locations in the next 15 years
Floating wellbeing destination planned for London’s Royal Docks
Aman Group to open second Janu in Dubai with inaugural Janu Club
Designed to restore neglected land and renew the identity of Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad Sustainable Forests promises a new way of living surrounded by nature. Gensler’s Ian Mulcahay tells us why he thinks the project could become a model for the repair and enhancement of urban centres
