Old Town Housing Association, Canongate, Edinburgh

Old Town Housing Association Edinburgh, Canongate Property, Richard Murphy Architects

Old Town Housing, Edinburgh

Canongate Housing for Old Town Housing Association design by Richard Murphy Architects, Lothian, Scotland, UK.

post updated 5 November 2023

Old Town Housing Association housing, 112 Canongate, Edinburgh – located on the south side of the Royal Mile (High Street)

Date built: 1999

Design: Richard Murphy Architects

Private Homes: nine flats; access to ground floor shop only.

Canongate HousingOld Town Housing
Canongate Housing photo © Adrian Welch, September 2007

Canongate Housing

Quirky low-budget Edinburgh Old Town housing with a contemporary twist.

The Masterplanner stipulated that this building be both a ‘Talisman’ for the area and Housing Association flats, hard to achieve within budget constraints of Scottish Homes’ grants system. The ‘tower house’ design evolved out of both the tight width, height and overlooking restrictions and the Edinburgh Old Town context of asymmetry, exposed staircases, exuberant roofs and galleried windows.

Canongate housingOld Town Housing Association
Old Town Housing: Canongate image from Richard Murphy Architects

This five-storey building for the Old Town Housing Association (three doors up) has a glazed shopfront at the base with red-coloured render for stairs to the left (sliding behind a square layer of glass blocks), with white render above for the flats.

Canongate HousingCanongate Housing
Canongate flats image © Adrian Welch

The phrase sculpted in curvy metal above the shopfront was added by the Old Town Housing Association after completion. At the top of the front façade the building jetties out in three unequal sections, clad in horizontal wood boarding.

Asymmetry is produced from varying materials – such as small mesh panels – scale, and details. In summary the frontage has a quirky Old Town feel; it doesn’t shout but it also isn’t overly polite.

Canongate Housing – build cost: £300k

Old Town Housing Association
Canongate buildings image © Adrian Welch

Edinburgh Old Town Architecture Tour

Canongate housing
Edinburgh Old Town Housing Association: Canongate Housing photo © Adrian Welch

Adjacent to this housing for the Old Town Housing Association is the Scottish Poetry Library (see above image, right)

Scottish Capital Building Designs by Richard Murphy Architect

Contemporary Richard Murphy Architects Scottish Capital Property Designs – recent architectural selection below:

Edinburgh Old Town:

Fruitmarket Gallery

Royal Fine Arts Commission

Edinburgh New Town:

Moray Place

Oloroso Restaurant

Dublin Street

Richard Murphy – some of the Scottish Buildings featured:

Dundee Contemporary Arts

Stirling Tolbooth

Edinburgh Walking Tours

Scottish Capital Property Designs

Edinburgh Housing

Scottish Capital Residnetial Property Designs – recent architectural selection below:

Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Project
Greendykes net zero affordable housing
image courtesy of EHDP
Edinburgh Home Demonstrator Project

Rowanbank Gardens Edinburgh Property
Rowanbank Gardens Double Height Apartment interior
image courtesy of Artisan Real Estate
Rowanbank Gardens Edinburgh Housing

Context for the above buildings: Royal Mile

Old Town Housing Association housing

Comments / photos for the Old Town Housing Edinburgh – Canongate Flats design by Richard Murphy Architects page welcome