MLA

Ardstone Capital Limited announces completion of their exceptional new project at 24 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh!   Developed on behalf of CBRE IM and the Ardstone Regional Office Fund the building occupies one of the best locations in Edinburgh’s city centre. 24 St Andrew Square sits at the heart of the New Town’s commercial and cultural hub. A total refurbishment programme has equipped this elegant, listed building to meet modern requirements providing open plan, contemporary workspace focused on well-being, sustainability and accessibility. The top two floors, connected by a new spiral stair, have been rebuilt and extended adding a spectacular roof terrace with stunning views across the square and beyond to Edinburgh Castle. The refurbished floors provide large, open plan, flexible office space with natural light from three sides, and a main core on the west side, refitted with new amenities throughout. Small details, such as lowering the sills of the third floor dormer windows to offer views of the square, are typical of the attention to detail given to this project. The importance of wellness and active travel are recognised in the provision of bicycle storage, showers and changing facilities. An enlarged reception which has more than doubled in size, provides an inviting and attractive arrival space for occupiers and visitors. The building has achieved BREEAM Excellent, EPC of A and is now fully electric, powered by air source heat pumps. Refurbishment of the existing building has saved over 5,000 tonnes of carbon compared to building new. MLA are delighted to have supported Ardstone, along with our industry partners below, on this development. Click through the images to take a look inside. Cushman & Wakefield Savills Linear Design & Construct Cundall PMP Thomas & Adamson Christie Gillespie Consulting Engineers Ltd. Montagu Evans 📸 McAteer Photograph Ltd #propertyindustry #commercialproperty #architectureanddesign

Transforming an eyesore office block into ‘The Resident, Edinburgh’, a luxury hotel in a conservation area…   Meldrum House was an unsightly concrete office building from the late 1950s in an attractive, residential, Victorian garden square. The building had reached the end of its lifespan and due to its age and lack of maintenance, the concrete cladding was spalling and falling away.   The conventional approach to a building in this condition would have been demolition. But having considered both options, the embodied carbon savings potential made retrofit an imperative. However, the cellular design and low ceilings were no longer compatible with modern requirements for office space. An alternative use was sought.   Mactaggart Family & Partners along with its experienced operators, Resident Hotels, conceived of the hotel project. Urban repair as well as minimising environmental impact were of critical importance. So, MLA’s design team and structural engineers Arup were commissioned to develop the brief with the client.   The ambitious approach retained the concrete frame and core, recycled external glazing and saved approx. 40% of embodied carbon. Watch the transformation below. #propertyindustry #retrofit #sustainabledesign

Ardstone Capital Limited announces completion of their exceptional new project at 24 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh!   Developed on behalf of CBRE IM and the Ardstone Regional Office Fund the building occupies one of the best locations in Edinburgh’s city centre. 24 St Andrew Square sits at the heart of the New Town’s commercial and cultural hub. A total refurbishment programme has equipped this elegant, listed building to meet modern requirements providing open plan, contemporary workspace focused on well-being, sustainability and accessibility. The top two floors, connected by a new spiral stair, have been rebuilt and extended adding a spectacular roof terrace with stunning views across the square and beyond to Edinburgh Castle. The refurbished floors provide large, open plan, flexible office space with natural light from three sides, and a main core on the west side, refitted with new amenities throughout. Small details, such as lowering the sills of the third floor dormer windows to offer views of the square, are typical of the attention to detail given to this project. The importance of wellness and active travel are recognised in the provision of bicycle storage, showers and changing facilities. An enlarged reception which has more than doubled in size, provides an inviting and attractive arrival space for occupiers and visitors. The building has achieved BREEAM Excellent, EPC of A and is now fully electric, powered by air source heat pumps. Refurbishment of the existing building has saved over 5,000 tonnes of carbon compared to building new. MLA are delighted to have supported Ardstone, along with our industry partners below, on this development. Click through the images to take a look inside. Cushman & Wakefield Savills Linear Design & Construct Cundall PMP Thomas & Adamson Christie Gillespie Consulting Engineers Ltd. Montagu Evans 📸 McAteer Photograph Ltd #propertyindustry #commercialproperty #architectureanddesign

Congratulations to MLA’s newly qualified architects - Elaine Varghese Stephen, Emma McMaster, Liam Scott Douglas, Alice See-Hoo, Gigi So and Arnaud Latran! It’s a fantastic achievement reflecting your hard work, dedication, and passion for design (and contract!).   We’re proud of the next generation of architects on our team and very much appreciate the value you bring to our project and clients. Well done! For anyone that didn't pass this year, re-group and go again next year!

Thank you Women in Property for an incredible charity dinner on Friday night in Edinburgh. And thank you to our wonderful guests from the property industry who joined our colleagues at the MLA table 🥂 This popular annual event was raising funds for Children First with a raffle and silent auction. Our client Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd kindly donated a 'Rosebank Rekindled' tour for two - a great prize which we're sure the recipients will thoroughly enjoy. We hope everyone had a great night, catching up with colleagues, friends and fellow professionals, whilst raising money for a great cause. Add your thoughts on the evening to the comments below. #womeninproperty #propertyindustry #officedesign

You're in safe hands with MLA's in-house Principal Designer and CDM consultant, Jacqueline Smith. Thank you to Robert Lewis for providing such valuable feedback on this essential service. A Principal Designer ensures health and safety throughout your entire project from concept to completion. And we offer it as part of our integrated architecture, consultancy and design services. Get in touch to speak to Jacqueline about your upcoming project -contact@mlaarchitects.co.uk #principaldesigner #propertyindustry #healthandsafety

Gilbanks celebration of inspiring women in their community, includes insights and advice from MLA Manchester Director Stevie Leigh. On the challenges faced building a career in the property industry - "I was always the only woman in the meetings and on-site. It pushed me to work even harder to prove myself and my skill set to gain respect in those environments, something that maybe my male counterparts wouldn’t have had to do." Stevie Leigh Click the link on the post below to read about the experiences of six women across a range of industry sectors. #iwd2025 #internationalwomensday #propertyindustry

Next week MLA Directors Stevie Leigh and Gordon Yeaman will be travelling to MIPIM, the pre-eminent global property event for attracting investment. Learning and knowledge sharing are a huge part of this event too, and 2025 offers an exciting exchange of ideas. This year's compelling programme covers a wide range of subjects from AI to ESG, urban regeneration, attracting regional investment, transformation of the rental sector, and much more. The challenge is narrowing down the list of key events to optimise a visit. So this month's newsletter is our 'pick of the programme' - the key events we're putting on our 'must-attend' list. Click the link to find out more. #mipim2025 #propertyindustry #mipim

Supporting the next generation... Students of architectural technology from New College Lanarkshire in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and design in Manchester, joined our team for work experience. In a busy week students visited projects on-site, showroom product launches and joined project meetings and presentations.   "I had an extremely worthwhile placement which gave me a first hand look at a design team in action. Every interaction I had was positive and I was made to feel very welcome from the get go. It was immediately clear MLA care about their employees. The site visits were very informative and sitting in on meetings gave a good insight on the conversations that go on between different disciplines. Having the opportunity to present our project to professionals was exciting and the feedback received was priceless." Greig Mitchell, Student Thanks to our industry partners for supporting us in giving the students a great insight into the work we do. #architectureanddesign #propertyindustry #socialvalue

Rosebank Distillery, shortlisted for The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland awards! 🥃 We're incredibly proud that the restoration of Rosebank has had so much recognition for its positive impact as well as design excellence. The design of Rosebank prioritises preservation and re-use, and honours the historic significance of Rosebank to the local community and the whisky industry. It has been a catalyst to help rejuvenate Falkirk tourism, create jobs and draw visitors into the town. Thank you to RIAS, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd and our partners on this project including Blyth & Blyth Consulting Engineers Ltd RYBKA Axiom Project Services Limited, and we look forward to the awards ceremony. #whisky #distillery #architecturalawards