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- Customer
- Private
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- Completion Date
- 17 July 2019
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- Value
- £20.8m
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- Form Of Contract
- JCT Design and Build with SOA
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- Project Manager
- MHBC
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- Structural Engineer
- Will Rudd Davidson
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- Area
- 10,816 sq ft
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- Program Duration
- 68 weeks
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- Architect
- Fletcher Joseph
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- ME Engineer
- RSP Consulting Engineers
Introduction
Located on one of the busiest roads in the city we were appointed to transform Erskine House on Queen Street in Edinburgh into a 276 ‘cabin’ hotel and an inviting community space, YOTEL Edinburgh.
The project saw us refurbish the existing 1960’s office block into the first YOTEL in Scotland, just a mile away from both of Edinburgh’s main train stations and part of the historic heritage site that the city offers to visiting tourists.
YOTEL Edinburgh New Town offers easy self-check in, a ‘mission control’ reception that’s a one-stop-shop for any need, 276 cabins (YOTEL speak for rooms), and a variety of inviting social spaces:
Imaginex – a 360° double height screening room is the perfect venue for all sorts of events;
KOMYUNITI – the hotel’s central hub is the place to network, socialise, co-work, eat, drink and feel at home;
and KOHI– built to run along the front of Queen Street, is a bright and airy café for that all-important caffeine fix.
The project
Bringing the building back to life to create an inviting community space was key so we began with a complete strip out. We remodelled the entire layout of the building, from the floor plate and the ceilings to the partitions and wall linings.
Refurbishment of the large, double-height glazed atrium created Scotland’s first 360-degree screening room, and a new destination bar now fronts Queen Street - the busiest road in Edinburgh.
As well as these new community spaces, we created a place for 276 cabin-style rooms, state-of-the-art check-in kiosks and a futuristic check-in desk. We also constructed five new lifts, applied new roof finishes, refurbished the roof light and upgraded all windows throughout the building.
Added value
The very fact that we were starting with a clean slate meant that we were able to make conscious and thoughtful decisions about our supply chain and our partners.
The existing model meant that most suppliers were US based so we adapted the chain to a European set up with a particular focus on local suppliers, including companies in Edinburgh. This included a local surveying company.
Sustainability
Our sustainability approach on site centred around three things – our services, the people working with us and the reuse and repurpose of furniture that we needed as part of our day-to-day activity.
We metred our lights, power and water supplies so we could monitor (and adapt, if required) our usage on site, and we procured local sub-contractors where possible.
We also worked with a local furniture company to ensure we were getting the most from the items we used on site – either returning it once we had finished the project to be used elsewhere or arranging to repurchase it at a later date to reuse on another site.
