Abercorn Terrace, Portobello

Brief

The site, an early Victorian villa with substantial original side wing and modern rear extension built in 1996, is situated within the Portobello Conservation Area and was used until recently as a residential care home. The owner, faced with the increasing obsolescence of the building’s facilities to meet modern standards of accommodation and care, decided to sell the property to a developer with a brief for conversion to dwellings.

In order to suit the differing characteristics of the various parts of the building, whilst optimising aspects of view, daylight and garden amenity, a range of dwelling types was developed which would also broaden market appeal to potential purchasers.

Proposals

The extent of side and rear extensions which had built up over time had left the site somewhat cluttered and significant portions required to be stripped away in order to liberate space for private gardens and to allow better daylighting the interiors.

Distances between facing elevations at the rear were as little as 4m which is unsuitable for modern privacy standards (typically 18m is expected) and so apartment layouts had to be configured which brought in daylight to the main habitable rooms whilst avoiding conflicts of privacy with neighbouring gardens and accommodation.

The design proposals include four generously proportioned one and two bedroom flats within the ground and first floors of the original villa, a three bedroom two storey townhouse in the remodelled 1996 block, a two bedroom penthouse flat within the (previously uninhabited) attic storey and a three bedroom two storey townhouse in the remodelled side wing. Re-configuration of the double pitched roof included infilling the former central valley section with a new flat roof to create the necessary space for the new penthouse apartment whilst concealing the bulk of the roof extension from street view so as to avoid any visual impact on the character of the conservation area.

Substantial reconfiguration of the interior was required and modifications to the exterior included two new traditional style dormers to the front roof with uninterrupted views over Abercorn Park and on towards Portobello beach, a new large box dormer with private terrace to the rear roof and a large number (thirteen in total) of new rooflights to improve daylighting whilst avoiding conflicts of privacy where windows would otherwise be in close proximity.

The two townhouses and the two ground floor flats have private gardens to the side and rear of the building whilst the remainder of the site is in common ownership and accommodates car parking, cycle parking, a refuse and recycling store and a variety of planted landscaped beds.

Abercorn Terrace, Portobello

Conversion, alteration and extension of Victorian villa within the Portobello Conservation Area to form five flats and two townhouses.

Client

Stone Acre

Key Consultants

Axiom Project Services

Will Rudd Davidson (Edinburgh) Ltd

Pendant Interiors

Photography

Square Foot Media

Principal Contractor

DJB Construction Ltd

Completed

20/07/2023

Brief

Proposals