Located next to Fountain Park in the western part of the city, VITA Edinburgh is a prominent addition to the city offering the highest quality, cutting edge accommodation for the discerning multi-national students who have made Edinburgh their temporary home.
The building provides 250 studio flats of various shapes and sizes, each with en-suite shower room, a kitchen, desk, fitted wardrobes, Wi-Fi and wall-mounted flat screen TV.
The topography of this site varied significantly from east to west and with an existing retaining wall around the south west boundary. Within the immediate vicinity of the scheme there are restaurants, pubs, offices, retail businesses and accommodation. The west elevation fronts the Edinburgh canal.
The building is arranged in a group of interconnected forms alternating in height from six storeys above ground floor at Fountainbridge, three storeys above ground floor for the middle and southern sections and eight storeys above ground floor for the highest tower element.
The ground floor incorporates lounge areas, private kitchen and dining facilities, study/meeting rooms and a media centre. There is a contemporary feel throughout with a range of high quality finishes which are simple and elegant.
Complex logistics management was required on this tight city centre site to maintain relationships with a multitude of neighbours. The lightweight, structural framing panel system comprised of pre-fabricated cold rolled steel wall panels and concrete floors. All panels were constructed off-site and delivered on a floor by floor basis ready for immediate erection using the project’s two tower cranes. The off-site manufacture ensured a high degree of constructional accuracy and high quality. The frame was installed faster than traditional methods and required a smaller installation team which inevitably provided economical benefits.
Each apartment is fitted with mechanical ventilation and heat recovery units to provide fresh air supply and extract ventilation in each space.
