Scottish Widows, Edinburgh, BDP Architects

HQ Building, Port Hamilton / Morrison Street, The Exchange (off Lothian Road), Edinburgh, Scotland

Scottish Widows, Edinburgh

Building Design Partnership
Scottish Widows HQ, Port Hamilton, 69 Morrison St, Edinburgh 1998



Edinburgh Headquarters


photo © Adrian Welch nov 2007 with lumix camera

Major Edinburgh headquarters building on land from former terminal of Union Canal. The Scottish Widows building has an Interesting parti of L-shaped block against crescent form with huge atria between. The building uses mixed mode venting and heating.


photo © Adrian Welch nov 2007 with lumix camera

Distinctive Clashach (scottish sandstone) stone with bronze-coloured curtain walling is used for facades. The Scottish Widows HQ reaches eight-storeys in the crescent and it's distinctive curved roof looks out over Edinburgh like a giant eye: consequently it has become one of Edinburgh's landmarks.


photos © Adrian Welch nov 2007 with lumix camera

Aerial photograph - no larger image:
Scottish Widows, Edinburgh
image from BDP Architects

The HQ build cost was approx. £62m



Scottish Widows architects : Building Design Partnership

Scottish Widows HQ - 2004-05 Building update: Refurbishment
Scottish Widows Edinburgh Headquarters Building BDP, Scotland
images © Adrian Welch

Scottish Widows : Expansion

Scottish Widows, Edinburgh
photo from BDP Architects

Exchange Expansion
Proposed new buildings by Scottish Widows - as reported earlier this year - incl. cafe, restaurant, courtyard and retained former meat market entry (latterly Fat Sams) and Semple St builidngs, expected to receive permission 12 Oct but jm architects' project for Scottish Widows to the south of the building unerstood to be still under discussion Oct 2005.

Scottish Widows - redevelopment context, Jan 2006:


images © Adrian Welch

The Scottish Widows Building - refreshed southern elevation in Jan 2006:


images © Adrian Welch

Adjacent buildings: The Exchange, Lothian Road incl. Edinburgh Conference Centre; to the West are Fountain Park, Fountain North and the City Travel Inn

Scottish Architecture

BDP Architects: Edinburgh buildings
Edinburgh Council HQ
Scottish Widows HQ
Craiglockhart Campus, Napier University
EICC Additional Spaces Facility - Project



BDP Architects
image from BDP Architects

Scottish Housing

Edinburgh : back to index

Scottish Widows : Dalkieth Rd building
Scottish Widows Dalkeith Rd
photo © Adrian Welch