David Olden - Architect and Interior Architect, Edinburgh, Scotland: Featured Projects

As there was no private external space attached to the
flat, my client approached the owner of the flat below to
see if it would be possible to use the air space above
the flat roofed single storey out shot building at the rear
with the intention of building a new roof deck.

Luckily the owner of the flat below agreed and the deck
was eventually completed in 2006. The property now
enjoys an external space with almost uninterrupted
panoramic views over the Firth of Forth and to the coast
of Fife beyond.

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South Trinity Road, Edinburgh

Clients: Mr and Mrs David Olden

Although some minor alterations had been
carried out to the rear in the 1960s, this
Millers semi-detached villa (built around
1937 in the garden of an earlier house) had
remained largely untouched. Even now,
from the front, the house looks relatively unaltered although a new piend roof to the north hip of the main roof gives a subtle hint that recent alterations have taken place.

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From the outset, the plan was to remove the earlier extensions and build a new single storey extension across the rear of the
house with larger glazed areas which would allow the kitchen and dining room to connect better with the garden. To bring as
much natural light as possible into the kitchen and dining rooms, large areas of overhead glazing were incorporated.

The kitchen worktop was made from a recycled teak school
laboratory bench, as are the steps from the dining area to the
sunken floor immediately in front of the glazed sliding panel.

In addition, the walls between the kitchen and dining room at the
rear and the living room at the front were removed and are now
connected by sliding/folding doors, which allows these three
smaller spaces to be combined as one or used separately as
required.

Roof windows were also introduced in other parts of the house in
order to improve the levels of natural day lighting generally. The
attic was converted into the third bedroom which is currently used
as a studio.

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Spylaw Bank Road, Edinburgh

Clients: Dr and Mrs Simon Backett

My clients' detached bungalow was
built in the 1930s. My brief was to
combine a rather small, dark kitchen
to the front of the house with a study
overlooking the sunny south-facing
garden with the Pentland Hills beyond
to form a new and larger kitchen.

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In addition, I was asked to design a new single storey extension off the kitchen which could be used as a guest bedroom. In order to maximise the fine aspect available and to take advantage of the views into the garden, large areas of glazing were incorporated into the south elevation. As well as allowing direct access to the garden, it is also possible to slide back part of the glazed panel to better enjoy the view.
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Whitehouse Road, Cramond, Edinburgh

Clients: Dr Halia O'Shea and Dr Paul Ewing

Almondbank House dates from the late 18th/early 19th century and is situated high on the edge of the east bank of the River Almond with an open outlook west to the woods of the Dalmeny estate on the other side of the river, and beyond.
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This house, which is listed, was built for a local iron master at a time when the river was an important industrial site. The original house occupied three full floors plus a half basement floor, with the main entrance off Whitehouse Road to the front and a further indirect entrance to the main basement rooms from the garden at a lower level to the rear. At some time in the last century, the house was divided into two separate flats.

My clients' property occupies the ground and the basement floors of the old house and has the largest part of the garden. It was clear when they acquired it that it would require a considerable amount of work to upgrade it. My brief was to carry out the necessary upgrading of services and fitments, to improve the layout (if possible) and in particular to exploit the potential of the basement and its relationship with the garden.

On the upper or entrance floor, a small shower

room was removed, allowing the expansion of a small adjacent bedroom into a fourth double bedroom. A new bathroom/shower room was installed in previously unused space elsewhere in the house.

Following the necessary tanking, damp-proofing and other works at basement level including the laying of a recycled maple floor throughout, one

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of the two principal basement rooms was turned

into a kitchen-cum-dining room whilst the other

became a family room and guest bedroom. A new glazed room was added in the garden at the rear, reached via a large opening
in the external wall and what was once a damp, gloomy, remote basement became a light and pleasant area linking home and
garden.

Finally, a decrepit single storey extension which abutted the main house at basement level and contained the old bathroom was
demolished and a new shower room formed.


				Craigleith Road, Edinburgh

				Clients: Gus and Joan Graham

				The original house was a late 19th century two storey end- terraced house with a single storey kitchen outshot to the rear south-facing garden. A series of 'ad hoc' extensions and a single-glazed conservatory were added in the mid 70s but these additions had become very dilapidated by the late 1990s.

The brief was to remove these later extensions, upgrade the kitchen
and dining room, form a new utility room and erect a new double-glazed garden room. The idea was to link these spaces together
with better access to the garden, making the whole more usable
and pleasant.

Overhead glazing was introduced in order to bring daylight into previously dark internal spaces such as the dining room. A feature
of the design is the overhanging roof of the garden room which
provides shade in the summer and helps to keep the building cool,
despite the large glazed sliding walls.

Liberton, Edinburgh

Clients: Patrick and Fiona Haynes

Originally a late 18th century/early 19th century
two-storey farmhouse and separate barn, they
had been converted in the early 1990s and linked
together by a single storey sunroom.

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Due to the needs of a growing family, and in order to rationalise and maximise the rather spread-out nature of the property, the existing single-glazed conservatory was removed and a new double-glazed garden room built. This formed the hub of the house and contained a new kitchen and dining space which opened up to a sunny south-facing garden that had previously been under-used.
The opportunity was also taken to form a new dressing room at first floor level above the new garden room, reached from the master bedroom via a new doorway. This room has been provided with services such that it can be converted to an en-suite shower room at a later date. A new utility room was also provided.

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Warriston Crescent, Edinburgh

Clients: Malcolm and Charlotte Mackay

The existing house is an 'A' listed early 19th century three storey terraced house with a long south-facing garden backing onto the Water of Leith.

During the serious floods of April 2000, the basement level of the house which contained the kitchen suffered major damage, rendering it uninhabitable. The clients took the opportunity to re-plan and refurbish the kitchen and family dining areas, and to erect a new garden room extension.

Very little of the basement layout remained as originally built, the property having been altered in the 1980s, and the new design opened up the space to the garden at the rear to provide a more contemporary feel. In addition, the unused potential of the basement was maximised to form a further bedroom/study and a second shower room.


				Inverleith Place, Edinburgh

				Clients: Juliet Fisher and Tom Ritchie

				The existing house, which was C 'S' listed, comprises the basement and garden flats of a former late 19th century townhouse which was converted in the 1950s. Following conversion, the accommodation was made up of a living room, a small double bedroom, a large kitchen-cum-dining room and a small bathroom plus a
large amount of storage space, left over from the conversion and totally under utilised. A conservatory had been added in the late 1980s, reached from the living room.

The clients' brief was to provide at least one additional bedroom. On completion of the project the existing large kitchen/dining area was converted into a large double bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. The kitchen and dining areas were located to the former storage space and internal walls were removed to link these areas so that the kitchen could have long views of the garden via the living room. Storage was rationalised and the existing bathroom was upgraded to form a shower room. Space was found for a new utility room.


Reinstatement of Cast Iron Railings, Edinburgh New Town

Clients: Edinburgh World Heritage Trust

The original metal gates, overthrows and railings surrounding the four private communal gardens at Circus Gardens, India Street and Great King Street had mostly been removed for scrap during the Second World War.

The brief was to replace four overthrows and two gates - two other gates and their railings having been replaced a few years earlier.

Luckily some vestiges of the original railings, etc. still survived at the India Street garden and examples of original gates and overthrows existed in both Drummond Place and Claremont Crescent. The surviving elements enabled a scheme to be developed and patterns to be made by a local foundry.




Update to Visitor Toilets at Whisky Heritage Centre

Clients: The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre Ltd, 354 Castlehill, Edinburgh

The existing visitor toilets were somewhat dated in appearance, with much exposed pipework, and also rather gloomy. The women's facilities were inadequate.

The brief was to reorganise the accommodation and to upgrade it to a standard befitting a major tourist attraction. A scheme was evolved which interchanged the men's and women's areas, increasing the footprint of the latter. Lighting levels were improved, exposed pipework concealed and new sanitary ware fitted throughout.