Baltic Street Student Residential
Saving an historic site through adaptive re-use
The Baltic Street project saves a group of rare and vulnerable historic buildings through innovative adaptive re-use and refurbishment that celebrates Leith's industrial heritage.
- Location Baltic Street, Leith
- Client HUB Residential
- Status On Site
- Services Architecture, Interior Design
- Size 558 Student Rooms
- 3D Visuals Secchi Smith
Background
The Baltic Street development regenerates the urban brownfield sites at 1-5 Baltic Street and 7-27 Constitution Street. The scheme proposes a mixed-use development that includes postgraduate student accommodation, affordable housing, affordable shops and a café and digital co-working space.
History
The site contains a rare and vulnerable group of historic Category B-Listed industrial buildings within the Leith Conservation Area.
1-5 Baltic Street was the original location of the Leith Gas Company, founded in 1823 and taking advantage of the railway line that ran immediately to its North. It was sold in 1915 to a timber merchants and, until recently, has been used for the sale and distribution of building supplies.
The site is familiar to many driving into Leith.
The historic buildings have a patchwork of repairs.
Although neglected, many of the buildings have strong foundations!
Existing Condition
Currently, the buildings are largely vacant, increasingly derelict and suffer from severe structural problems. Both parts of the site are contaminated and are undergoing remediation to enable re-use. However, the recently completed tramline to Newhaven runs past the site and has brought a new sense of identity to this part of Leith.
The existing site captured by drone
Many interesting original features survive.
Later buildings have already been demolished.
Proposals
The proposal provides a high-quality holistic solution for one of the most difficult brownfield sites in Leith, or indeed the City as a whole.
The principal components of the proposed development comprise 66 HMO compliant apartments , each comprising between 4 and 11 bedrooms, equating to 558 student rooms in total across the development.
Proposed Site Plan.
3D Montages show the site in context.
New buildings integrate discretely with the existing streetscape.
Each apartment will have an appropriately scaled living / kitchen / dining room, and shared central facilities such as common rooms, music practice rooms and laundries are provided for residents.
Central hubs provide space for students to socialise
Bedrooms are finished to a high standard.
Supporting the Community
The development also proposes 18 Residential Units in a new building on the Constitution Street frontage. Five of these units will be Affordable Homes served by their own lift and stair core. These buildings will have retail units at Ground floor level, providing an active continuation of Constitution Street.
Looking south to Constitution Street.
Design
From the outset, it was proposed to retain as many of the original buildings on the site as is feasibly possible. The historic fabric of the buildings will be celebrated and sensitively restored. Where alterations have to take place, we have worked hard to create sympathetic and complementary work which respects the historic structures.
The proposed material palette for the new build elements of the development have been chosen to complement, maintain and strengthen the historic fabric of the site.
The site is familiar to many driving into Leith.
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The historic buildings have a patchwork of repairs.
4
Although neglected, many of the buildings have strong foundations!
5
The existing site captured by drone
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Many interesting original features survive.
7
Later buildings have already been demolished.
8
Proposed Site Plan.
9
3D Montages show the site in context.
10
New buildings integrate discretely with the existing streetscape.
11
Central hubs provide space for students to socialise
12
Bedrooms are finished to a high standard.
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Looking south to Constitution Street.
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