Derelict quarter given £200 Million makeover
Tiger Developments in conjunction with Richard Murphy Architects have begun work on a £200 million plan to build two new hotels, a continental-style boulevard including retail and office space at a derelict site in Edinburgh city centre. Richard Murphy, CDA and Sutherland Hussey have drawn up designs for the project, to be known as ‘The Haymarket.” With construction beginning on site before the year is out, completion is hoped for 2012.
The most significant component of the entire enterprise is the construction of a monument-like 192 bed, five star hotel, The 17 storey, leaf-shaped building has been designed to stand near Haymarket Station, orientated to create a gateway of blade-like sharpness in the form of a tower, with an attached lower rise building and shared atrium running between it.
The hotel will take its place as Edinburgh’s third railway hotel alongside the established landmarks of the Balmoral and the Caledonian hotels. As with these hotels, this new fabrication will, deliberately, be markedly higher than its surroundings and will contribute to the evolving skyline of the city, but without blocking any significant views of either the Castle or nearby St Mary’s Cathedral
Richard Murphy said, “The five-star hotel will re-define Haymarket in the same way The Balmoral transformed the Waverley Valley and the Caledonian Hotel enhanced the West End of Edinburgh.”
Most of the social functions of the hotel are placed at the top of the building, acting as a beacon at night and functioning as a gateway building marking entry into the World Heritage Site when approaching from the west.
This enhancement is expected to breathe new life into an area that is in much need of rejuvenation, enabling it to play a major role in the future economic and social life of the city.
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