Union Hanover submits plans for Edinburgh hotel
The 180-unit waterfront hotel will be located by the Union Canal Basin on Freer Street if approved.
It will include a range of studios and one-bedroom suites, as well as four rooftop penthouses. Each unit will also have a kitchen and living room space. Under the Urban Villa concept, the units have been designed to fit ‘any kind of guest’, whether business or leisure.
Union Hanover is also planning to secure an ‘interesting’ coffee shop concept for the hotel and is currently in negotiations to bring a ‘high-profile’ restaurant operator on board.
Managing director at Union Hanover Eric Jafari said: “We are very passionate about creating a destination hotel for Edinburgh.
“We’re champing at the bit to create a statement building for the city which will embrace its water-side location and transform it into an inviting social hub, for residents of the city and the hotel alike.”
Urban Villa design
The Urban Villa branded hotel has been designed by New York-based architect Grzywinski + Pons in collaboration with the Edinburgh-based Michael Laird Architects. Work is expected to start on the site in the spring of 2015 if the plans are approved.
“The designs pay homage to Edinburgh’s cultural fabric of elegance while infusing elements of that sexy Manhattan feel,” explained Jafari.
Principal at Grzywinski + Pons Matthew Grzywinski said: “We felt that designing a new building in Edinburgh would be a question of balance; progressing the formal discourse of the built environment while respecting the incredible heritage, tradition, and quality of the city’s architecture.”
Director at Michael Laird Architects Jeremy Scott said: “The design is a totally unique and ambitious urban solution for this waterside location which will purposefully raise the bar in terms of design approach for Edinburgh.
“The facade articulation and material pallet will respond to the special quality of light in Edinburgh. The city has been waiting for a hotel of this design calibre for a long time.”
