Historical and geographical situation of Edinburgh and Leith

Historical and geographical situation

Edinburgh is spectacularly set on the rocky ridge, bounded by the Pentland Hills to the South and Firth of Forth to the North.

Up until 1920 Leith- current coastal part of the city- had been an individual town. As a vassal of Edinburgh it had no rights and privileges. Relationship between the citizens of Leith and Edinburgh have always been difficult and Leithers have very strong local identity.

Up until 1833 Leith had been the vassal town of Edinburgh. That meant absolutely no civil rights or priviledges for its citisens, as well as total dependance and serfdom towards the capital city.

Leith-the vassal town
(until 1833)

Independent Town of Leith
(1833-1920)

Leith- Industrial district of Edinburgh
(since 1920)

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Landscape and Architecture of Leith and Edinburgh

Landscape and Architecture of Leith and Edinburgh

Edinburgh, with its vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Majority of Leith's historical architecture was built in the short period of independence- 1833-1920.

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Transport network analysis

Port of Leith is very conveniently connected with the rest of the city. There are a few national roads going by, as well as public transport system connections. The tram line connecting Port of Leith with the airport via the city centre is to be open in 2011

The node point is located on the junction of Constitution Street(leading toward the city centre), Salamander Street (via Baltic St, leading to the East-Portobello, Musselburgh) and Bernard Street leading to the West boundaries of the city (airport, the Forth Bridges)

Environmental assessment

The southern part of Leith is evenly and richly provided with green areas. Historical site of Leith Links- the birth place of golf- is the biggest local park.

There is a rich network of cycle paths and the site is located between two types of urban coast: park-styled promenade of Cramond to the West and urban beach of Portobello to the East.

The docks area itself, due to its industrial past, lacks green terrains

Valorization of Leith area

This analysis shows the distribution of different types of areas in terms of their visual and functional values.

At the moment Leith Docks, being an industrial area, have low aesthetic quality. It is to be seen on the scheme above, that the Shore area has been recently regenerated and is one of the highlights of the city. There are vast brownfields however separating the port from the surrounding historical city.

Leith's urban structure analysis

Currently Leith is a post-industrial district of Edinburgh. At the moment it lacks spatial order- industrial, degraded parts are mixed with historical buildings and new developments.

Docks themselves are mostly abandoned industrial buildings. Whole terrain of port is designed for new development.

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Design Studies

The aim of the Waterfront regeneration is to reconnect Leith and Edinburgh- in both spatial and social context.

Analysis show the idea of composition- continuation of the river line, turning back towards the city. The center of gravity is concentrated around the Imperial Dock, in the form of network of public spaces.

  • parks
  • marinas
  • central squares
  • camp site
  • compositional axis
  • secondary compositional axis
  • node points
  • view openings
  • view points
  • promenade
  • formal dominants
  • heights dominants
  • urban gondola's station
  • view axis
    (towards the city)
PROPOSED
EXISTING

Transport
network

Proposed
functional areas

  • main communication axis
  • secondary roads
  • public communication stops
  • cycle pathS
  • commercial buildings
  • residential buildings
  • social buildings
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Proposed layout

The aim was to create "the place". Public spaces seem to be the missing element in urban structure of Edinburgh. As this regeneration is to bring Leith and Edinburgh together I found it important to create the meeting place, raising the significance of Leith.

The city squares are the centre of vast mixed-use development, connected with the promenade and the sea view by wide landscape openings.

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  • EXISTING STRUCTURES:

  • 15. Hydraulic Station
  • 16. Historic Cranes
  • 17. Ocean Terminal
  • 18. Royal Yacht Britannia

  • KEY:

  • 1. Fish Market
  • 2. Museum Place
  • 3. Main Market
  • 4. Hotel Place
  • 5. Small Marina
  • 6. Heated pools/ icerink
  • 7. Tourist Marina
  • 8. Sport/commercial Marina
  • 11. Camp Site
  • 12. Sports Grounds
  • 13. Social Bdg's
  • 14. Mini Open Air Museum
  • 15. Main Car Park
  • P. Promenade
  • G. Urban Gondola Station
  • C. Boat Cinema, Water Venue

Urban detail

The main square is an urban beach- idea successfully used in Copenhagen, Berlin, Toronto. Individually designed umbrellas and screens give an individual touch and protection from Scottish weather. Platform can be used both as an auditorium and a venue itself.

The main square is directly connected with the Museum Place- area dedicated to Leith's history and culture.

KEY:

  • 1. Boat cinema
  • 2. Urban gondola's station
  • 3. Technical and sanitary facilities, snack bar
  • 4. Sand-covered urban beach with
    permanently mounted umbrellas and screens
  • 5. High-resistant wooden platforms
    with steps allowing comfortable sitting and walking- auditorium for the water venues
  • 6. Heated pools- possibility of converting into an icerink in winter
  • 7. High-resistant wooden platforms
  • 8. Plant composition
  • 9. Outdoor seating in surrounding restaurants
  • 10. Sculptures by local artists

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Aerial view

Edinburgh is situated on series of hills and Leith Docks are visible from most viewpoints of the city.

Proposed layout is made in a big scale, with strong form- to create a spatial signature, recognizable from a distance.


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Aerial view- visual connections with the city

Not only the Port of Leith is visible from many points in the city, there are magnificent views to be seen from the Leith Docks area too.

There are wide openings in the structure of proposed layout, creating and framing views to the north- Firth of Forth and Fife landscape, and also towards the city- emphasized directions are the Castle, Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill. This strenghtens the connection between different parts of the city, helping integrating Edinburgh and Leith.


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