Glazing systems by leading architectural aluminium supplier Kawneer feature on one of the largest and most comprehensive regeneration schemes in Scotland.
Kawneer's AA®110 curtain walling and AA®4110 doors feature on a total of four new-build blocks of apartments at the multi-award-winning £500 million Quartermile development.
Kawneer-approved specialist sub-contractor Charles Henshaw and Sons has installed them on blocks Q20 and Q21, is currently (February 2014) installing them on block Q22, and will be installing them on block Q23 for main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.
The Kawneer systems involved are AA®110 SSG (Structurally Silicone Glazed) mullion-drained and AA®110 zone-drained curtain walling with 65mm sightlines, AA®603TE tilt slide doors, AA®4110 sliding doors and AA®100/AA®110 concealed window vents.
Formerly the home of the historic Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the 19-acre site is located within a conservation area on Edinburgh's Victorian fringes and includes nine listed buildings. It lies between the heart of the city and the parkland of the Meadows and falls within a central area of Edinburgh that was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.
Master planners Foster and Partners' scheme for its renewal for developer Quartermile Management Services extends the practice's investigations into the creation of sustainable, mixed-use urban communities.
The infirmary was originally open and accessible but a cumulative series of additions had the effect of rendering it impenetrable, isolating it physically and visually from the surrounding city.
The starting point for the regeneration scheme therefore, was to open up the site, creating a network of pedestrian routes and landscaped public spaces that drew the park directly into its heart, creating a strong sense of place and reinforcing pedestrian connections to the centre, allowing it to become an integral part of the city once again.
New construction is combined with the selective refurbishment of the historic buildings, with the new woven carefully into the grain of the old. When complete the development will provide 900 apartments, 350,0002ft of Grade A office space, a five-star hotel, and 55,0002ft of retail space including restaurants, cafés and shops.
The apartment buildings are located at the quieter edges of the site, while offices and shops are concentrated in the centre. The commercial buildings frame a new square, shaded on three sides by colonnades and animated by the exposed glass lifts of Quartermile Two, a seven-storey office building.
