The City of Edinburgh Council has appointed Will Rudd Davidson as consultant civil and structural engineers to oversee two housing projects in the capital and a survey of the condition of high-rise homes in the city.
The firm’s Edinburgh division will begin working on the design of new affordable homes at Leith Walk that will close a gap site to be vacated by an Edinburgh Tram’s construction team; and Powderhall former Waste Transfer Station, an ambitious project in the Broughton neighbourhood of Edinburgh seeking planning permission to create around 220 new private and affordable homes. This will complement the new intergenerational facility and refurbished stables building that will also be delivered on the site by the Council, supported by its partners. [1] [2]
Engineers at Will Rudd will have the opportunity to work on complex structural projects with Leith Walk being bounded to the front by listed buildings, the tram line and Powderhall, a brownfield redevelopment site, sitting adjacent to the Water of Leith and existing residential flats.
The team at Will Rudd is also exploring how to make best use of low carbon technologies on the sites such as green roofs and PV panels.
As part of a drive by the City of Edinburgh Council to make all council homes carbon zero, Will Rudd Davidson has also been appointed to oversee all structural engineering elements of the investigation into the condition of 36 multi-storey blocks by the project management team at Faithful and Gould. A report to the council’s finance and resources committee references Will Rudd’s recent accomplishment of a similar project at Westfield Court in Gorgie which was delivered to a high quality, on time and within budget. [3]
Gillian Ogilvie, Managing Director, Will Rudd Davidson Edinburgh, said: “All of the Will Rudd Davidson team are looking forward to supporting the delivery of these exciting projects and we will be taking a leading role in the design and development of the civil and structural aspects.
“We will be working closely with the design and delivery team to develop the sites in conjunction with the brief. These projects present exciting challenges to our engineers, especially in the form of drainage infrastructure, flood risk and delivering energy efficient structures.
“It is always a pleasure for us to work on projects that deliver new and sustainably built homes in the capital and we look forward to working with the City of Edinburgh Council over the coming months.”
Tricia Hill, Development and Regeneration Manager at The City of Edinburgh Council, commented: “We are really pleased to have appointed Will Rudd Davidson and look forward to working with them on these two projects to build quality and affordable flats for our residents to call home. These buildings will also capitalise on the newest green technologies to make sure we are developing neighbourhoods that are energy-efficient and help reduce household¹s energy bills, while helping us to meet our city’s net zero by 2030 ambition. We look forward to building on the long-standing relationship we have with Will Rudd Davidson and seeing these developments come to fruition.”
[1] https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/13098/powderhall-regeneration-hits-another-major-milestone-with-benefits-for-all-generations
[2] https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/13231/final-phase-of-powderhall-stables-transformation-underway
[3] https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/documents/s42814/7.10%20-%20Citywide%20High%20Rise%20Full%20Building%20Condition%20Surveys%202022-2023.pdf
