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WELCOME TO THE SPRING 2023 NEWSLETTER OF RICHARD MURPHY ARCHITECTS
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NEWS OF EXISTING PROJECTS
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Work starts at the new National Centre for Music
(formerly the Royal High School)
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Another major milestone was passed in the long story of this project. The Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT) has signed a 125 year lease with the City of Edinburgh Council on the site and this has triggered an enabling contract with Chamic Industrial Services Ltd. This involves the demolition of all the non-Hamilton buildings on the site plus excavations within the historic building itself. The latter is crucial to the continuing detail design of the building with a view to the main contract commencing this Autumn. More can be seen here on the RHSPT’s website. Image (L) shows the current main hall prior to removal of non-historic fabric as part of these enabling works. Image (R) shows a developing visualisation of the new hall.
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Planning permission for Papple Steading, East Lothian
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The East Lothian Development Control Committee passed our proposals unanimously on 16th December, 2022. The project proposes an agricultural museum, conference centre, café, centre for Buck and Birch catering, and 11 holiday lets. The project is about to go out to tender and should be on site in July this year. Image shows a sectional view of the two storey archive and exhibition cabinet for East Lothian Antiquarian & Field Naturalists' Society (EFLANS).
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'Open Afternoon' at our new house in Gullane
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So many friends of the office have enquired about seeing our new house design in Gullane, East Lothian that our clients Graeme and Kim Ritchie have very kindly agreed to open it on the afternoon of Saturday 27th May, 2.00pm - 5.00pm. We shall be there with them to show people around. If you would like to visit, please book a time slot by phoning the office and speaking to Pauline, tel: 0131 220 6125. Please can we ask that you just don’t turn up unexpectedly!
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Planning permission for 6 Braid Hills Approach, Edinburgh
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Our design for a major new house in the Braid Hills area, south of Edinburgh, received planning permission by a unanimous vote at the City of Edinburgh Council’s Development Control Committee on 8th February. The project, a 550 sq m three storey villa, focuses on a northern view to Edinburgh Castle and to the west towards the Pentland Hills. A new access road will be constructed to the top of the hill. Work is expected to start at the end of this year. Image shows the west-facing elevation.
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Greenock Ferry Terminal & The Wyllieum
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Our project in Greenock is now being fitted out by the three separate tenants who inhabit the building. Work is fast progressing on the latest Scott’s Restaurant on the top floor which should be ready for the public to enjoy by early summer. Meanwhile on the ground floor the west wing is being prepared by Peel Ports to receive cruise liner passengers, who will start arriving in Greenock at the beginning of April. In the east wing the Wyllieum Gallery is being prepared for an opening exhibition expected to be in the autumn of this year. |
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Macmillan Hub and North Edinburgh Arts
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Construction is progressing well on site with the steel frame and timber frame elements nearing completion and the brickwork external skin starting to take shape. Internally first fix partitions and M&E services are beginning to define the outline of the rooms and spaces. The photo shows the nursery school courtyard with the first floor section of the nursery school on the left-hand side. The roof will be part of the school playground.
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Portal, Trinity College Dublin's Innovative Hub
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Portal, our project for a new innovation building for Trinity College, Dublin will start construction this month. Flynn Construction have been appointed as main contractor and we look forward to working with them and also with our architectural colleagues in Dublin, TAKA.
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Student Housing, Cambridge
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Richard Murphy Architects have had a long relationship with Cambridge, including having been three times short-listed for projects at Jesus College, and two substantial academic buildings for Anglia Ruskin University: the East Road satellite campus at Young Street which won Cambridge Building of the Year in 2016 and a new Science Faculty building competed in the same year. Now we have returned to build 100 student rooms on Newmarket Road for the Unex Development Group, intended for undergraduates. A planning application is expected to be submitted in the middle of this year. |
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We have been commissioned to design a new house in Longniddry, East Lothian and also to convert a derelict house to apartments in the Pyrenean country of Andorra. The first commission was inspired by our recently completed project in Gullane. The Andorran project will be our fourth house outside the UK; two houses having been completed in the Irish Republic and one in the Netherlands. The new house in Longniddry is about to be submitted for planning permission and we'll publish pictures in the next newsletter.
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RICHARD MURPHY ARCHITECTS IN THE PRESS
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'Richard Murphy on unlocking the Old Royal High School'
Richard gave a well received lecture about the former Royal High School project to the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland in January. About 60 audience members braved the winter weather and a further 60 listened online. An in-depth precis of the talk, described as "engaging and enlightening" featured in the Edinburgh Reporter. 'Work to begin 'immediately' on £55m music centre vision for Edinburgh landmark'
The progress of the National Music Centre and in particular the signing of the lease has figured in prominently in the national press. The Scotsman, Telegraph, Times and local press Edinburgh Evening News all covered the story. The Chair of the RHSPT Willie Grey-Muir was quoted as saying "This is a significant milestone for the former Royal High School and the delivery of our shared vision for a new world-class centre for music education and public performance". |
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| Richard’s own house in Hart Street continues to attract architectural tourists. 40 students from Sheffield University toured, followed not long after a visit from students from the centre for the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth in Wales and 40 students from the Bartlett (UCL) in London. The Twentieth Century Society will also be visiting Hart Street in June. |
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| Richard Murphy Architects will exhibit as part of the Royal Scottish Academy's 197th Annual Exhibition which will run at the RSA from 6 May to 11 June 2023. Our exhibit will feature new images and movies of both the forthcoming National Music Centre, the Filmhouse project in Festival Square, as well as images of the completed house in Gullane and the forthcoming house on Braid Hills Approach. An online version of the exhibition will be available on the RSA website. |
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A new webpage has been created for our unofficial proposals for a combined air traffic control centre for Highlands and Islands Airports at Inverness Airport. |
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| We are seeking both an experienced and enthusiastic Architect and an Architectural Technician to join our award-winning practice in Edinburgh. Candidates should have a minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience, enjoy working in a creative, collaborative environment and ideally, demonstrable experience with BIM. Further details can be found on the RIAS and RIBA websites. If you meet the requested criteria and would like to apply please send a covering e-mail and CV with examples of your portfolio to mail@richardmurphyarchitects.com |
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AND FINALLY...WE MADE IT!
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On our third try (two prior attempts having been cancelled by successive lockdowns), we finally had our office trip to Porto! Included in our visit was a concert in Rem Koolhaas' new concert hall, a guided tour of Porto School of Architecture, a night spent in the famous conversion of ruined Cistercian Monastery Santa Maria Burro into a Pousada (hotel) by architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, and quite a lot of eating and drinking.
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