There is an unfortunate preponderance of lacklustre 'commercial' buildings from the eighties at Edinburgh Park and even the 'published' buildings suffer from a Janus-type problem (along the main North-South strip) with the public arriving at the East façade beside the attractive lochan only to discover that they must go round the back to gain entry.
The distasteful expanses of car park may be a thing of the past as recent Edinburgh Park masterplans show a much higher density with interesting attempts at urbanity, by Allan Murray Architects, CZWG Architects (Piers Gough) and Gordon Murray + Alan Dunlop Architects.
More positive action came in the way of a Design Competition for the G4 site [below right], in Summer 2001. The southern expansion of this Edinburgh business park - Edinburgh Park Phase 2 - was announced in October 2001
Runner-up: Gordon Murray + Alan Dunlop Architects
Competition for Site G's last block:
G4 Competition
BT Building, Site B, 1999 Private
Alexander Graham Bell House
John Menzies Building, Site D, 1994 PrivateProficient but unexuberant early Park building.
D3 - Aegon Headquarters Building
Former Adobe Headquarters Building, Site D, 1998-99; 99-00
Aegon Scotland
F1 Xansa, Site F, 1999
Private
Xansa Edinburgh
F2 IF / Halifax, Site F, 1999-2000
Private
Intelligent Finance Edinburgh
G1 - UDV Global Headquarters, Edinburgh Park Site G, 1999
Private
UDV Scotland
G2 Lochside House, Site G, 1999
Private: New headquarters for the HQ company
HQ Edinburgh
G3, Site G, 1999
Private: Speculative office development
G3
Site A Masterplan, 1997-2001; fit-outs ongoing
Private: shells completed, some fit-outs complete
The most visible site in the Park has been re-designed from Meier's original vision with a much higher density. There are less ugly surface car parks (now almost all underground) but sadly no City of Edinburgh Rapid Transport (CERT). This 'tram' system should have stopped here on its way from airport to city centre and back again, proposed in 2000.
Buildings A1 (facing the Gogar roundabout), A2 (adjacent to BT Building), and the small A5 pavilion by the lochan all by Allan Murray Architects: original model right:
A1, Site A, 1997-2001
Private: shell completed, on site
A1
A2, Site A, 1997-2001
Private: fit-out completed
Oracle Edinburgh
A3 - JP Morgan Chase Site A, 1997-2001
Private: fit-out handed over late 2001
JP Morgan Chase Scotland
A4, Site A, 1998-2001
Private: shell completed, Miller are tenants
A4 by Piers Gough / CZWG
Michael Laird Architects
RBS Younger Building
