Oriam

Oriam is Scotland’s Sports Performance Centre. Dundee, Stirling and Edinburgh put initial bids together for the right to be the ‘host’ city for the building. Rankinfraser were part of the Deloitte and Reiach and Hall team appointed by Heriot Watt University to develop the Edinburgh bid. In 2013 Edinburgh won the right to host the centre. The building is sited within Heriot Watt’s Riccarton campus ‘straddling’ the southern boundary of the walled garden and adjacent to the arboretum and perimeter shelterbelts of the original designed landscape which dates from the late 18th century. Rankinfraser’s proposal reinforces these relationships by strengthening the boundary shelterbelt and extending it to the north where this new tree planting in conjunction with associated terraces become prominent features in the designed setting of the building. This space also forms the pedestrian approach to the building from the car park. The new car parking incorporates prominent existing trees and is integrated with the existing car park immediately to the east under the pinetum trees.  Elite athletes travel to the building from the coach drop off point via a designated footway through the existing boundary shelterbelt. The walled garden had been used for a number of years as a car park. Our proposal restores it to a garden space creating a formal relationship between the new building, and it’s setting, while also allowing it to be used as ‘break out’ space from the Centre.

Client: Heriot Watt University, Sports Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council

Architect: Reiach and Hall

Status: Complete