WORK has started on a crescent of glass-fronted contemporary new homes in one of Edinburgh’s most iconic locations in the heart of its World Heritage Site.
CALA Homes is behind the project that will breathe new life into the grounds of Donaldson’s School, after the company converted the William Playfair building into flats, in conjunction with heritage restoration specialists City and Country.
Architect Richard Murphy has designed The Crescent to complement neighbouring category A-listed Playfair building, which accepted its first pupils in 1851.
David McGrath, managing director of CALA Homes (East) said it was a privilege to be involved in the project.
“It is rare enough to earn the chance to create new homes in a World Heritage Site – let alone to be working in a location as special as Edinburgh’s renowned Donaldson’s site,” he said.
“This promises to be a one-of-a-kind development and one that we are extremely proud and excited to be part of.”
The turreted Playfair building is one of the most recognisable in the capital and was home to Donaldson’s School for the Deaf, which moved to a purpose-built campus in Linlithgow, West Lothian in 2008.
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