Projects 1
Georgian house transformation
This project transformed the interior, and especially the lower-ground floor, of a three-storey, grade II Georgian house in Warriston Crescent at the northern end of Edinburgh’s New Town. The goals included bringing light into the heart of the building — which was achieved through the addition of a large new roof-light at the top of the
Studio and remodelling house and garden, The Grange, Edinburgh
client private engineers CRA Ltd. contract value £160,000 area new build 95 sq. m.; total remodelled area 450 sq. m. The client had outgrown their semi-detached Georgian bungalow in the heart of the Grange Conservation Area in Edinburgh. They needed new detached accommodation and remodelling of the existing house, front and back gardens. A 67m2 self-contained
House Extension, Leith, Edinburgh
client private engineers CRA Ltd. contract value £57,000 area 35 sq. m. An extension to a Victorian house in Leith, Edinburgh, this project was designed to maximise the light coming in from the client’s south-facing garden. It is a large, single room for sitting, dining and showing films. The new multi-purpose room is pulled away to
New playground, Eskbank, Midlothian
client Genesis (J&T) Ltd (Trading as Happy Days Nurseries) Happy Days acquired a new nursery in Eskbank, Midlothian, a year ago and asked Halvorsen Architects to design an imaginative and original new playground for it using natural materials. Halvorsen Architects were delighted to be able to put their ideas about play and risk-taking into practice. The natural forms of the
New pre-school nursery, Haddington, East Lothian
client Genesis (J&T) Ltd (Trading as Happy Days Nurseries) This is our proposal for a nursery school on the outskirts of Haddington, East Lothian. It is located in the large, mature garden of a private house. The house was to be remodelled to house the 0-2 year olds and a new timber building proposed in
The benefits of risk in the playground
For children to learn, it is essential that they take some risks and this is something pupils at Happy Days nursery, Eskbank are now able to do thanks to the new Halvorsen Architects-designed play area at the site. The playground was completed in June and the children are clambering excitedly all over the trees and
New classroom
Pre-school pupils recently moved into their new brand classroom at Happy Days nursery, Hardengreen, near Dalkeith. The client wanted an extension to its existing nursery, which could be quickly constructed in order to help alleviate a growing waiting list. Halvorsen Architects response was to deliver a simple, timber-framed structure that is clad in Scottish larch.
Woodland Nursery, Eskbank, Midlothian
client Genesis (J&T) Ltd (Trading as Happy Days Nurseries) engineers CRA Ltd. area 130 sq. m. Happy Days moved in to Hardengreen House, Eskbank, Midlothian – a large Georgian house originally built in 1796 – a couple of years ago but have outgrown the premises. The house has extensive grounds, with fields in front and woodland
Woodland to playground
Halvorsen Architects have just completed phase I of a new playground at Happy Days’ Eskbank nursery school. All the oak and larch trees were sourced from nearby woodland – trees that otherwise have no commercial value and were due for clearance. A tree lorry carrying all the wood just sneezed through the nursery gates and
Extension to Happy Days Nursery, Dalkeith – Phase I
client Genesis (J&T) Ltd (Trading as Happy Days Nurseries) engineers Gordon Eadie and Iain Thew contract value £150,000 area 48 sq. m. new build, 30 sq. m. refurbishment This is the first phase of the expansion of Happy Days pre-school nursery in Dalkeith, Midlothian. This phase includes a dining room, craft room and toilets. The
Restoration of Georgian House, Gorebridge
client private 14 Main Street is a listed Georgian house in the heart of Gorebridge’s old town. It falls within a conservation area that is part of the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funded by Historic Scotland and Midlothian Council to help in the restoration of buildings. Halvorsen Architects acted as architect for phase I
Whole tree structure – first in UK?
This is an abridged version of an article for the next issue of Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers. If I had known how difficult this project was going to be, would I have still done it in the way I did? – absolutely! Genesis (J&T) Ltd., owner of a successful pre-school nursery chain in Midlothian asked me
Old dairy restoration
45 Main Street is a listed Georgian house in the heart of Gorebridge’s old town. It falls within a conservation area that is part of the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funded by Historic Scotland and Midlothian Council to help in the restoration of buildings. No. 45 used to be the town’s dairy. Halvorsen Architects acted as architect for the
Passivhaus Studio, Edinburgh
client private engineer CRA Ltd. contract value £70,000 area 55 sq. m. The client lives in a listed 1950s, Morris and Steadman house – the ‘Upside Down House’, and needed more room for an expanding family. After looking at various ways of extending the existing house in a bold manner, sympathetic to the original design,
DNA sculpture, travelling UK
Poet Melissa Bailey asked me to collaborate with her on the design an installation that represents DNA and it’s unchecked mutations that can lead to cancer. She wanted a sculpture related to her poetry and also a place where one could listen to the poetry. We asked genetic scientist Fiona Moorman to join our team to advise how best and
Wooploft, Scottish Borders
As part of the wood workshops I run with Stephanie Walker, Wooploft was one of the most ambitious. Pupils from Tynewater Primary School’s P7 class designed and built the structure in one year year under the auspices of International Year of the Forest, and with a grant from the Forestry Commission. The aims of this workshop
Happy Days nursery, Midlothian
I have done several projects with children and schools with Gorebridge Community Development Trust. One of these projects – Wooploft – caught the eye of a new client, Genesis (J&T) Ltd. I am designing two additions to their Dalkeith Happy Days nursery – a dining room and a pre-school room. Happy Days is an Eco-School. All
House in area of outstanding natural beauty, Midlothian
client private engineer CRA Ltd. contract value £300,000 area 140 sq. m. The client wants a family house for a stockman in an area of outstanding beauty overlooking Crichton Castle. There are several contradictory requirements that need to be satisfied in the design of the house. The house needs to be physically near the cattle
House extension, Midlothian
This is an extension to a Georgian sandstone house in Midlothian, using a timber frame, timber cladding and large areas of glass. The cladding is Siberian Larch – a popular cladding material with architects because of its durability, cost and more consistent texture than its Scottish counterpart. The timber is untreated and will turn silver-grey
Extension to and remodelling of house, Bristol
This project was for a client for an extension to and remodelling of house, Bristol that I had worked for in London. He had a similar situation in Bristol – a Victorian house that was too dark and pokey for his liking and an unused attic. In this case planning permission was not required as
House on site of barn, Midlothian
Planning permission has been approved a four-bedroomed house in rural Midlothian on the footprint of a redundant pole barn. The plan, height and roof profile were all dictated by the shape of the barn – a stipulation by the planners. It will be clad in untreated larch which will turn silver-grey over time. This will
House extension, London
The clients wanted a new play room and bedroom extension for their listed Georgian terraced house in Marylebone, central London. The challenge for Halvorsen Architects was to provide reasonable accommodation on a very narrow site with onerous planning constraints. The scheme was for a two-storey rear extension divided into three bays. Each bay has a
Plaswyck Park, Rotterdam
Plaswyck Park is a popular park and zoo in a suburb of Rotterdam. The clients wanted to move the main public entrance to the opposite side of the park and to have new offices, a restaurant and a shop near the new entrance. They also asked us to look at new proposals for accessing the
Gorebridge Locality Plan, Midlothian
In 2009 Midlothian Counil asked Gorebridge Community Development Trust to . . . . . . text to follow.
Green roof, Edinburgh
Green Roof Bicycle Shed client private contract value £20,000 area 6 sq. m. Logistical problems of storing bicycles and recycling bins at the bottom of a steep stepped path up to the client’s house led the client to Halvorsen Architects. The house (Morris and Steadman’s Upside Down House) and garden are both Grade B Listed.
House extension, Essex
The clients wanted to make their modern 1970s house and outbuildings less fragmented and open up the interior to the garden. The scheme unifies the various elements with a series of canopies and hard landscaping providing a new terrace, car port and covered walkway. The canopies are composed of bold, laminated beams that seem to
Westminster underground station, London
Westminster Underground project and site architect in collaboration with Ove Arup & Partners client London Underground Ltd engineer G.Maunells and Partners landscape architects Wong Tung and Partners contract value £32 million area 6,000 sq m The client asked Michael Hopkins & Partners to design a new Underground station at Westminister for the Jubilee Line Extension.
House extension, Midlothian
Halvorsen Architects were asked to replace an existing lean-to extension and remodel the interior of part of a Georgian house in Lasswade, Midlothian. All the internal walls in the area concerned were removed and a new purpose-made stair installed. The floor to ceiling glazing and open-plan hall/stairwell allow maximum light inside where there had been
Fern roof, East Lothian
client private contract value £20,000 area 8 sq. m. Shepherd House sits in a spectacular Grade B Listed walled garden that is open to the public. All elements of the garden, both architectural and horticultural are beautifully designed with loving care by the owners to form a perfect harmony. The owners wanted to replace their
Timber barn, Midlothian
The clients wanted a large rural barn/shed in which to store agricultural, gardening and leisure equipment. The building is clad in timber and carefully detailed, which means it is a much more attractive building than the standard metal sheds favoured in the locality. It is also a surprisingly economical solution. The barn/shed uses an existing
Wesley Crescent, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian
Wesley Crescent, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian client private engineer CRA Ltd. contract value £90,000 area 43 sq. m. The clients for this residential extension had recently returned from living in France and Switzerland and wanted to introduce the same quality of light and open-plan living in a modern style that they had enjoyed there. The rear of
Gorebridge Beacon, Midlothian
client Gorebridge Community Development Trust architect Lee Boyd engineer David Narro Associates mechanical and electrical engineer Irons Foulner Partnership landscape architects Rankin Fraser contract value £2.7 million I joined the board of Gorebridge Community Development Trust in October 2007 in order to help the trust in the design and procurement of a new community centre
House extension, Edinburgh
Greenhill Place, Edinburgh client private engineer CRA Ltd. contract value £90,000 area 58 sq. m. The brief was to replace and enlarge an existing poorly built 1970’s extension to a Listed Georgian terraced house on the edge of the Grange. The challenge was getting light into the North facing extension and designing a connecting glazed
The New House, Buckinghamshire
The New House, 1992-94, Amersham, Buckinghamshire client private engineer Whitby and Bird Engineers contract value £375,000 area 380 sq m The client asked for a modern house that would benefit from its position in the Chiltern Hills. The relationship between inside and outside was of primary importance in the design. One enters the house through
Two New Houses
Planning permission has been approved for two separate, new, four-bedroomed houses designed by Halvorsen Architects in rural Midlothian. They are both in the beautiful area around Crichton Castle, with one actually overlooking the ruined keep. Midlothian Council was concerned about the impact the houses might have on this area of outstanding natural beauty, so great
Timber Extensions
Here are a couple of recent extensions to sandstone Georgian houses in Midlothian, both using a timber frame, timber cladding and large areas of glass. Both use Siberian Larch as the external cladding, but in different arrangements to suit each particular building. Siberian Larch is a popular cladding material with architects because of its durability, cost
Community Hub – works start
Work has started on the new £2m Community Hub in Gorebridge, Midlothian! After six years of brain storming, planning, consultations and negotiations with all the stakeholders we have finally arrived. There have been many set backs along the way mainly due to timing. We embarked on our, possibly over ambitious, project early in 2008 when
‘Upside-Down House’ Studio
Some of you may be familiar with the work of renowned Scottish modernists Morris and Steedman. We were contacted by the new owners of their 1959 Sillitto House in Charterhall Road, Edinburgh, dubbed the ‘Upside-Down House’ because the bedrooms were placed on the ground floor and the living accommodation on the first floor to take
Spring in Scotland – Wooploft
It is Spring, or so we are told. I have had the best skiing in Scotland for a long time. Who needs the Alps. I have just returned from visiting Wooploft with two of my children to see how it fared in the Winter. Wooploft is the ‘den’ that we made with my son’s primary
ECAN 10 Year Exhibition, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Chartered Architects Network (ECAN), the largest network of small architectural practices in Scotland, held an exhibition at the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) to celebrate its tenth anniversary. The exhibition was held at RIAS in Rutland Square in October to celebrate the group’s achievements over the previous decade and incorporated a selection