Located in the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage site of Edinburgh’s Old Town, this development has created over 1,100 new student rooms in a scheme that is strongly rooted in the historic city and enjoys an array of onsite-student resource, amenity and social spaces. This project for the University of Edinburgh was delivered in association with JM Architects and HarrisonStevens Landscape Architects with Balfour Beatty Construction as Main Contractor. This ground breaking development offers a varied mix of contemporary accommodation for the University, focused around affordable, residential accommodation targeting international postgraduate and mature undergraduates. A large scale 450 bedroom ‘collegiate’ Residence Hall sits at the heart of the development with four domestic scale buildings around the periphery of the site. A café, laundry, retail and Outreach Centre, serving both University and community, bridges community and academia along principal bustling thoroughfares, offering flexible and adaptable accommodation for continued learning, community education and event facilities. Bruce Nicolson at the City of Edinburgh Council Planning Department commented: "I just wanted to say how delighted I am with the way this development has turned out. I think that the extensive design discussions and your tireless revisions/improvements has produced a first class piece of townscape which significantly enhances the Old Town. It also plays a big part in the evolution of the architecture of the wider Canongate area, perhaps now one of Edinburgh’s most interesting areas. The quality of the buildings and the landscape is excellent and I am sure they will stand the test of time."