South St Andrews Street

The vision for the project is to create a new contemporary Japanese-inspired capsule hostel in what was formerly a vacant office building in the city centre of Edinburgh for an exciting new hotelier brand. The building is situated in the centre of Edinburgh within the New Town Conservation Area and UNESCO World Heritage Site and benefits from exceptional public transport links being located adjacent to the tram line and minutes from Edinburgh Waverley and Edinburgh Bus Station. The existing structure will be fully upgraded with renewable technologies and fit out with over 240 bespoke bed capsules providing a unique guest experience. A retail presence at ground floor will remain, adjacent to the main entrance to the hostel.

The proposals will include the addition of a new storey for the hostel and a rooftop restaurant with external terrace. The rooftop addition is proposed to be a lighter weight structure in comparison to the stone structure below, and more monolithic addition to the fifth-floor level where designs have been influenced by the existing building, which has unusually chamfered windowsills and heads as well as jambs in some locations. This along with the precedence of capsule hotels and the use of a Japanese restaurant, allowed us to develop an origami-inspired façade.