LDN Architects - Review 2019

REVIEW

2019

LDN Architects Edinburgh University Law School

EAA BUILDING OF ST JOHNS CHUR

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F THE YEAR 2019 CH, EDINBURGH

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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

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hanks to the dedication of our team, 2019 was another fruitful year for LDN Architects. We worked on many extraordinary projects and in doing so delivered real change for our clients' businesses, communities and homes. It is a pleasure then to review some of the achievements and milestones that were realised in the period and to set out the prospect that lays in store for 2020.

Having been a Partner of LDN since the beginning of 2018, it has been particularly gratifying for me to have witnessed such a tangible progression, in such a short space of time - in the practice’s diversity of workload, personnel qualifications and social responsibility. In the past 12 months, alongside many other accomplishments, we have completed a major refurbishment of Edinburgh University’s Law School, a new heritage museum in Gairloch and a story telling centre at Moat Brae. We have seen three of our team succeed in becoming qualified architects and one a certified Passivhaus Designer. We have become an accredited Living Wage Employer, a signatory of the Scottish Business Pledge and have been recognised as one of the top 10 practices in Scotland through inclusion in the Urban Realm 100.

All of these things are rewarding in their own right but are made all the more meaningful knowing that they have been achieved in a culture of community and collaboration across our studios.

In a changing marketplace, we are also proud to have continued to demonstrate sustainable commercial business growth. Of significance, I am delighted that as of January 2020 our Partnership has grown from five to seven Partners with the appointment of Ángel Morales-Aguilar and Emma Rose Berry. Ángel, our newly qualified Passivhaus Designer, and Emma, an Advanced Level RIAS Conservation Accredited Architect, will help shape LDN’s future in new ways that are already being felt.

In short, there is much to be proud of in 2019 and much to look forward to in 2020*. Please enjoy our annual review.

Stuart MacKellar

Partner

*Despite Covid-19

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PEOPLE 2

LDN’s greatest asset is its people.

We are committed to supporting our personnel in a number of ways, such as through encouraging further education and qualification or embracing flexible working. We are alive to equality of opportunity and encouraging diversity - it is, after all, that diversity of skillset and personality that allowed 2019 to be another year in which our dedicated team flourished, producing design and site work of the highest quality.

To them, we say thank you.

N E W PA R T N E R S

The standout moment for personnel in 2019 came at the close of the year when Ángel Morales-Aguilar and Emma Rose Berry were announced as new Partners, officially moving into their roles on 01 January 2020. Ángel and Emma were invited to become Partners following several years of contribution to and progression within the practice. LDN is delighted to welcome them to kick-off the 2020s.

Amy Redman and Lousia Butler

2019 was also a year which saw many of our talented women shine. It was momentous for Amy Redman, Louisa Butler and Heather Graham who, thanks to a mammoth amount of hard work, can now use the title of Architect.

All three joined the ARB register during the year after earning their Part 3 professional qualifications and congratulations from their colleagues in the process.*

Heather Graham

Marc Stewart continues to impress with his ability to balance his third year Architecture Degree course at the Mackintosh School of Architecture with full time employment in the Forres office. *In a spoiler for the 2020 review, we can’t not mention Kyle Scott, who put in the legwork in 2019 and passed his Part 3 professional qualification in early 2020.

[Now] Partner Emma Rose Berry and Associate Pinny Muir furthered their contributions to the profession by becoming Part 3 examiners, ensuring that future generations of UK students of architecture meet the standards required to practise as an Architect.

Pinny Muir LDN Architects

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Elsewhere, Ángel MoralesAguilar furthered his and LDN’s capabilities in Passivhaus design by joining architect Alex Pearson as a Passivhaus Certified Designer. Together, they now provide LDN with genuine expertise in the field of low-carbon sustainable architecture.

Outside of qualifications and professional recognition, social events have remained high on the agenda for the practice. In the summer the Edinburgh and Forres offices met up to view one of Scotland’s most talked

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about architectural pieces – the V&A museum by Kengo Kuma and Associates. The Forres office also spent a day visiting work in progress and recently completed projects including the Caledonian Canal Centre, Gairloch Museum and a new private home at Port Henderson.

Alex Pearson joined LDN in 2019 as a Project Architect. He has a rare set of qualifications being a Passivhaus Certified Designer & Consultant, OCDEA Accredited SAP Assessor and having completed a PhD focusing in ultra-low energy housing in rural Scotland – so, we have a doctor in the house.

Daniel MacDonald joined LDN in 2019 as Digital Content and Bid Co-ordinator. In his role, he has had a hand in the full spectrum of project work, including this Review.

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E N V I R O N M E N TA L FOCUS What inspired your interest in sustainable design?

Ă NGEL MORALES-AGUILAR Partner

"For the very first time in our history, we must consider the impact of what we do today in relation to those that will follow us"

My interest in Sustainable Design is rooted in my fascination with the natural world, which goes back to my childhood. I grew up in a city in southern Spain and always had access to areas of outstanding natural beauty from an early age. I also had first-hand experience of farming and rural life thanks to my family connections.

The ancient and rich relationship between human settlements and the natural environment found in my native Andalusia has always mesmerised me.

Landscape, vegetation, architecture and their historical interconnection became one of my favourite topics in High School, where I took History, Biology and Philosophy. Eventually, my natural inclination for Design led me to choose Architecture for my studies where my interest in the natural environment, and the human impact upon it, found a perfect match in the emerging paradigm of Sustainable Design of the mid-1990s.

I firmly believe that the concept of Sustainable Development, as described in the Bruntland Report in 1987, represents the most significant shift in human culture since the invention of agriculture. For the very first time in our history, we must consider the impact of what we do today in relation to those that will follow us – a seemingly simple change that no civilization has ever considered before.

What did you learn from becoming a Passivhaus Certified Designer?

I first became aware of the Passivhaus (PH) standard during my Erasmus year in Dresden (Germany) in 2001.

The PH ecosystem was still maturing at the time and was little more than a regional energy standard, virtually unknown outside of the German-speaking world.

In 2010, already working at LDN, I attended the 15th International Congress in Dresden, where I was able to experience how the PH standard, with the help of the mighty German construction industry, had become a synonym for energy efficiency and was now

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internationally recognised as one of the most advanced industry standards for lowenergy design.

Although I have always tried to use the principles of passive design in all my projects, the PH Certified Designer course I attended in late 2018 gave me a wider theoretical understanding of building physics’s key principles which, combined with my experience in timber construction and building conservation, have become the foundations of my approach to Sustainable Design.

How can our profession respond to the challenges of Climate Change?

The Earth’s climate is a dynamic system whose only constant is change. Although the debate on whether Climate Change is caused by humans’ industrial activities has now been settled by the scientific community, how we deal with its consequences is still disputed due to the profound changes required to our lifestyle.

We have the moral obligation to reduce our impact on the Earth’s biosphere and ensure that our descendants can have a safe and fulfilling life, including the enjoyment of the natural world.

My personal view is that Architects should lead the discussion in our industry by demanding a data-based policy that is firmly based on a commitment to reduce both emissions and our dependency on fossil fuels. High-profile demonstration might bring the issue of climate change back to the fore of our news-saturated lives; we need to ensure that momentum is maintained after the media-driven spotlights wanes. We should advocate low-carbon design at every opportunity and be ready to offer solutions that consider long-term aspects beyond current technical conventions and immediate economic profit.

WEST EXTENSION 3D MODEL BY LDN ARCHITECTS

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EAST EXTENSION 3D MODEL BY LDN ARCHITECTS

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Are there measures that are not being talked about but should be?

A lot is being talked about; unfortunately much less is actually being done.

Climate Change and Sustainability are buzz terms that have been (over) used for a number of years now. The research into low-carbon design is extensive and covers all parts of buildings - from envelope to materials, from embodied energy to services - but this vast amount of information does not reach the mainstream due to the Construction Industry’s infamously slow adoption rate of new solutions.

I don’t think the Scottish Government is being ambitious enough with regards to the reduction of CO2 emissions as the main question about the de-carbonisation of the energy primary grid is not on top of the political agenda. We can design and make buildings more efficient so that they use less energy, but what about the rest of the build stock, which can be difficult, expensive and inefficient to upgrade? We can all shift to electric cars, but where is the energy powering them going to come from? We need our main source of energy to be low-carbon and, ideally, from renewable sources. And we need that before the end of this decade, not in 2045.

Although things are improving, I still feel there is a lack of (real and realistic) leadership by the Government at UK, Scottish and local levels. There is still not

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a single Local Authority in Scotland that demands energy standards like Passivhaus for its social housing programmes and, although undoubtably things are better than they were 10 years ago, it feels like the pace of change is still slow.

Do you think our profession is adapting fast enough?

There is a widespread interest in lowenergy solutions within our profession and the available resources are constantly growing, to the point that some guidance is needed to avoid getting lost in a maze books, articles and seminars. I believe it is crucial to create personalised routes for professional development that focus on solutions appropriate to each Practice based on their type of workload and clients. We should all be able to defend our design decisions in front of consultants, planners, clients and contractors using principles of building physics.

What excites you about future trends?

I see Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Circular Economy as the main drivers of Sustainable Design over the next 10 years.

I believe Architects must strengthen their technical base and be able to work alongside our Engineers rather than blindly relying on their advice with regards to building fabric and energy performance.

I am excited about applying the principles of Passivhaus in a project and learning more about POE and LCA.

"We need to adopt new practises and technology to progress"

Where do you see the future of LDN Architects with regards to Sustainability?

I see LDN Architects as a leading practice in sustainable Conservation of both pre and post-2019 buildings.

I see LDN Architects as an advocates of POE, LCA and CE across all projects, regardless of the sector and type of building.

I see LDN Architects as a leading voice within the architectural profession in Scotland that demands standards of quality based GROUND not onFLOOR architectural merits alone, but PLAN WITH VISUAL also on sound environmental credentials that can be backed up with sound, oldschool, boring data.

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C O M P L E T E D – W O R K T H AT C A M E T O A C L O S E I N 2 0 1 9

Completed LDN completed a wonderfully diverse set of projects during 2019, from a display shelter for ancient symbol stones in rural Aberdeenshire to the complete overhaul of Edinburgh University’s Law School. A select cross-section of some of the work that was completed during the year is presented here, with thanks to the clients, contractors and consultants that made it all possible

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C IAR AN’S HOUSE C LIC SAR GE NT HOMEFR OM- HOME

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LDN Architects Ciaran's House - Site Plan Scale 1:200 at A3

Edinburgh - CLIC Sargent The project looks to tailor the design to the aspirations of a Home-from-Home and take advantage of the unique opportunities specific to the new location. The contemporary architecture seeks to form a sensitive relationship to the historic late Georgian farmhouse.

British hand-made bricks were selected to complement the tonal range and textural qualities of the existing sandstone, while acknowledging a clear separation between new and old. The internal spaces are welcoming, naturally lit and homely with hardwearing, lowmaintenance specification.

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E D U C AT I O N

E DINB UR GH LAW SC HOOL Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh This involved a major refurbishment of a Category A Listed building to provide contemporary teaching spaces, offices and support services accommodation for Edinburgh University. The building has been altered to provide level access across all floors from a new circulation core. A new cafĂŠ and social space has also been provided along with a new Law Library across three levels.

It is now set to welcome the next enrolment of law students.

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RESIDENTIAL

CARRA HO U S E Port Henderson - Private Client Our clients wanted to make the most of their site's uninterrupted views to the Hebrides. Broad runs of glazing and carefully set and proportioned roof lights take maximum advantage of daylighting, with the flying oak linings to the latter providing a dynamic set of gnomonic shadow-casts to the interiors. The living space is set apart through being approached across a minutely detailed bridge.

That bridge is then reflected and repeated to the outside, giving access to a carefully benched and glazed viewing tower.

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E D U C AT I O N

NAT IONAL C E NT R E FOR C HILDR E N’S LIT E R AT URE AND ST ORYT E LLING Dumfries - Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust Since 2013, LDN has been responsible for helping the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust to restore and develop the building and its garden as a National Centre for Children’s Literature and Storytelling. The work included the restoration of Walter Newall’s interior design; the installation of interpretation and activity spaces and the creation of a new café, shop and Education Room in new extensions. The garden has also been transformed into a Neverland attraction for children.

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COMMUNITY

IN V ERNES S C R E AT I V E A CADEM Y

Inverness - Wasps Artists Studios The refurbishment and conversion of the former Inverness Royal Academy to artist studio, workshop and exhibition space, has formed the penultimate phase of the Midmills development, where LDN has already delivered a mix of 84 affordable and retirement homes.

The Category B listed building now provides individual studios for over 30 artists, forming the Highland’s first major creative hub. A two-stage project, Phase 2 is set to go on-site in 2020.

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E D U C AT I O N

HERI O T' S R E F E C T O RY

Edinburgh - George Heriot's School The original Refectory at George Heriot’s School, located within the context of the Category A grouplisted Lauriston Place campus and constructed in the late 1960s, had a number of operational issues which were impacting on the quality of the user experience. In contrast, the new facilities completed in 2019, provide contemporary, light-filled and welcoming dining space and supporting facilities for students and educators to enjoy.

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COMMERCIAL

SC OT C H WHISKY E XP ERIEN CE

Edinburgh - The Scotch Whisky Experience The Scotch Whisky Experience development project on the Royal Mile involved phased alterations to the existing Listed buildings and was delivered with the building open to the public, and throughout some of the busiest parts of the tourist season.

C O N S E R VAT I O N

TUL L I CH K I R K A N D S Y M BO L S T O N E S H E LT E R

Aberdeenshire - Aberdeenshire Council This project in rural Aberdeenshire has multiple strands that include the careful conservation of the existing roofless ruin, in order to conserve the existing fabric and reveal its history, as well as the provision of a new secure display structure that allowed a curated set of ancient carved stones to be brought back to Tullich and put on display.

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C O N S T R U C T I O N – W O R K T H AT W E N T O N S I T E I N 2 0 1 9

Construction

Although many of LDN’s projects completed on site in 2019, many were in progress at the year end, offering an exciting set of prospects for 2020. Again, the one commonality is their diversity.

We have projects on-site across the UK and of varying scale, typology and complexity. The following pages highlight just some of those projects in their current stage of transformation.

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COMMUNITY

P ORT HOUSE , JED BU RG H

Jedburgh - Jedburgh Community Trust The re-development for community use of a Category A listed 19th Century former Cooperative department store and adjoining bakery in Jedburgh town centre.

Collaboration with Scottish Historic Buildings Trust

C O N S E R VAT I O N

PROVAN HAL L

Glasgow - Glasgow City Council The restoration of Category A Listed Provan Hall, a 16th- century former hunting lodge and one of Glasgow’s oldest buildings.

It is being converted to provide dressed historic rooms and flexible community and office spaces.

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E D U C AT I O N

NORT HGAT E HOUSE

Halifax - Calderdale Council The largescale redevelopment of the former Halifax Library (now relocated to its new facilities, also delivered by LDN Architects) to become a new higher education facility, including public realm proposals which establish a new communal retail space interfacing with the adjacent office buildings.

Altogether, creating a neat bookend to Halifax High Street.

E D U C AT I O N

INVERNES S HIG H S C H O O L

Inverness - The Highland Council This has involved and involves major phased internal alterations and external fabric repairs for the campus, dominated by the original School (a Category B listed 1937 Modern Movement building) to ensure it is fit for 21st Century teaching, providing it with a new lease of life and its users, in particular the students and teachers, with a properly respectful working environment.

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

NE WHAILE S E STAT E

Musselburgh - National Trust for Scotland LDN have been working for the National Trust for Scotland at the Category A listed Newhailes Estate for over twenty years. Newhailes comprises of a 17th century country house within an 18th century designed landscape. Most recently, LDN have overseen contracts to repair the extensive walls at Newhailes including the ha-ha walls, kitchen garden walls, flower garden walls and doocot walls.

A RT S & C U LT U R E

S CAPA F L O W MU S E U M

Hoy, Orkney - Orkney Islands Council The Museum is on site and involves extending – with a thoroughly modern building - from the grade A listed Pumping Station, which functioned as shelter to a giant set of machines that drew oil out of tanker vessels into nineteen cathedral-scale tanks on land to then be pumped back out to naval war ships.

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

JAME S C R AIG WALK

Edinburgh - Nuveen Global The refurbishment and development of a historic B listed building within the Edinburgh St James development and requiring significant fabric repairs to the masonry, roofs and windows. The street-front is undergoing significant new works to return the building to its original Georgian aesthetic whilst also catering for new commercial functions.

COMMERCIAL

S T ANDRE W ' S H A L L

Edinburgh - Nuveen Real Estate Significant fabric repairs are required along with a new modern extension on this B-listed building within the new St James Centre Development.

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

INVE R NE SS T OWN HOU SE

Inverness - The Highland Council The final phase of significant external fabric repairs and adaptations to Inverness’s civic centrepiece. The work follows on from the successful delivery of Phases 1 and 2 which, together, won the National Stone Award for Repair & Restoration in 2018.

RESIDENTIAL

RI V ERW O O D - R E T I R E M E N T L I V I NG Milngavie - McCarthy & Stone The development will deliver 49 retirement living apartments with associated landscaping and car parking incorporating the outline design of 12 separate affordable apartments.

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

NAI RN C O U RT H O U S E

Nairn - The Highland Council Full external restoration of the Category B listed Nairn Court House and its distinctive steeple. The Court House and former Jail have continued in use throughout as the local administrative offices of the Highland Council.

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

ARG Y L L & S U T H E R L A N D SC O TTI S H HI G H L A N D E R MUS EUM

Stirling Castle - ASH Museum The Regimental Museum of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is located within the King’s Old Building, which is a Scheduled Monument and one of the oldest edifices within the complex of Stirling Castle. The project aims to develop the Regimental Museum of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as a premier attraction within a world-class heritage setting that will also serve as a lasting tribute to those who served in the Regiment.

C O N S E R VAT I O N

SKIP T ON T OWN H A LL

Skipton - Craven City Council The grade II-listed Skipton Town Hall was built around 1862 and is located on Skipton’s High Street. The project involves the improvement and transformation of the impressive building to mend the flexibility and function of the Concert Hall, establishing a muchimproved cultural offer to the Craven district and transforming the building into a self-sustaining community and cultural hub.

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CONCEPT – NEW WORK AND PROJECTS ON THE DRAWING BOARD

Concept

As we enter 2020, we are pleased to be working hard for our clients across a varied portfolio including places of work, study, residence, community and culture. Taken together, it offers a diverse landscape of architectural endeavour, which is deserving of our consistent and considered approach.We look forward to bringing these projects to fruition with our clients and consultants.

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A RT S & C U LT U R E

THE CABR A C H

Cabrach - The Cabrach Trust LDN is leading a design team on this exciting project in The Cabrach - interpreting the region’s historical engagement with illicit whiskymaking and installing the means to make some more - legally!

RESIDENTIAL

E NGINE YAR D

Leith, Edinburgh - Allenbuild Ltd The Engine Yard consists of two brickwork buildings: the Big Shed and the Wee Shed. The complex, made up by both buildings, is the B-listed Shrubhill Tramway Workshops, which will be restored and redeveloped to create dwellings, with a mix of flats and townhouses. Along with a new conjoining element of building, a total of 36 dwellings will be realised.

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C O N S E R VAT I O N

S T M I CHA E L L E B E L F R E Y

York - St Michael le Belfrey Extensive fabric repairs and a contemporary re-ordering of this superb Grade I, 16th century Church to meet the needs of its thriving congregation.

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RESIDENTIAL

P RIVATE HO U S E

Perth - Private Client A private residential development in a quiet Perthshire location requiring a considered set of extensions and the delicate introduction of a new vehicular approach.

RESIDENTIAL

C ANNAN LANE

Edinburgh - Rennick A new residential development in the popular Morningside area of Edinburgh, exploring ways to maximise space and value for the client and the end user.

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A RT S & C U LT U R E

I NV ERNESS C A S T L E

Inverness - The Highland Council A major transformation of Inverness’s most iconic Category A listed building to create a new visitor attraction of international standard. Formally the Inverness Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court and, once, also housing the district prison, the buildings will become a heritage-led visitor attraction incorporating museum and gallery spaces, a cafÊ and landscaped gardens.

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COMMUNITY

C OMMUNIT Y HUB

Culbokie - Culbockie Community Trust A new-build community hub for a rural settlement to the North of Inverness. The hub is arranged as a collection of modest buildings designed as a refined take on the local agricultural vernacular.

When complete, it will provide essential new internal and external community gathering spaces including offices, a café and an allimportant potting shed.

C O N S E R VAT I O N

B O L ES K I N E H O U S E

Foyers - Boleskine House Foundation Trust The complete restoration of a special but severely fire damaged Category B listed “Building at Risk” on the southern shore of Loch Ness. The project involves the subtle reordering of the elegant plan and the rediscovery of period details.

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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Gairloch Museum GAIRLOCH

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LOCATION:

Gairloch CLIENT:

Gairloch Heritage Museum VALUE:

£1.85m COMPLETED:

2019 The Museum occupies what was to be an AntiAircraft Operations Room (AAOR); a concrete box inside a concrete box, built to withstand the effects of an H bomb. This extraordinarily tough construction required care and ingenuity to achieve the user needs and environmental conditions demanded by the collections. The outcome delivers a precise plan with utility and drama to the fore.

The exterior treatment respects the monolithic block of the AAOR. The interior was grit-blasted back to the original concrete.

The Museum was previously housed in a “make do” series of traditional cottage type buildings with chronic maintenance and accessibility problems. The new building delivers • •

• •

• • • • • •

Full accessibility Clear and engaging exhibitions, showing the diversity of and changes to the local community over time through to its stunning geology and sumptuous wildlife A building as an integral part of Gairloch’s history The rehabilitation of a neglected close-toderelict set of structures, prominent in the streetscape of Gairloch and in the view from the sea A comfortable working environment in a 21st century envelope Educational facilities Research facilities An auditorium A video conferencing suite The volunteer group has grown, tying the Museum deeper into the community, with more than 120 local people engaging with the project through its gestation, realisation and future.

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SOCIAL The greatest impact has come from two main changes.

For the first change, the Museum has brought dynamic day-to-day and permanent use to a prominent coastal site that was host to several buildings other than that which has been reimagined in use and rehabilitated in its fabric and worth. These ancillary buildings occupied the most visible and, therefore, environmentally detrimental edge of the location; that bounding the edge of the main through route. The project has given a huge environmental boost by bringing a new definition to the town through having a Museum that attracts a visit in itself, rather than a place to visit that happens to have a museum.

The building then has both a dedicated space for visiting exhibitions and the flexibility over all to host performing artists, speakers and groups in need of meeting spaces.

The museum has already played host to an exhibition titled 35 Years of West Coast Art – showing the diversity and evolution of the performing arts in the greater local area as well as an exhibition of works

by Sheila Mortlock, a Scottish artist who works in stitched textiles taking inspiration from the land around Altgrishan and Melvaig and other personal memories evoked by the area. There is, then, a programme of visiting exhibitions to be rescheduled from October of this year.

In the second change, the Museum has – so far – raised its paying footfall by roughly four times that previously enjoyed.

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ENVIRONMENT

I N N O VAT I O N

Although there is some introduced structure to the building, the project is one realised more through removing fabric than bringing things into place. The building as found was heavily compartmentalised and the needs of the user brief were realised through making bigger and properly interconnected spaces. This makes the construction unusually light on carbon count.

The imaginative leap required in seeing a big, dilapidated and neglected concrete box as a high-end Museum is innovative, creative and demanding powers of persuasion of might to bring the community and funders to the same conclusion; that it will work.

It has then been given an insulated jacket – its walls already resilient in many ways to weather and heat loss, it now has a superb internal environment which needs very little introduced heating. The roof is also that which existed, but with a new insulated covering. Daylight is introduced to the heart of the interior through several "sunpipes".

The people involved in the procurement of the project are, considering the West coast location, quite local; the quantity surveyor from Invergordon; builder and project manager from Beauly; architect from Forres; structural engineer from Inverness and services engineer and interpretation designer from Edinburgh.

All of the wired services are surface-fixed and, although that is more-or-less by necessity, it is all beautifully realised and eminently flexible.

The building is planned so that the social and teaching spaces can be made accessible out of hours or in parallel with the Museum.

Technologies have been included that allow comprehensive inclusion of needs – audiovisually but also, unusually, through the tactile nature of the building, with the basic interior surfaces delivered “as found”.

Biodiversity is improved, simply through bringing some plant life to what was an industrial yard.

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PRACTICE 2019

2020

At the close of 2019, LDN’s team of people numbered 40. We are:

In early 2020, with the introduction of two new Partners and the qualification of another architect, the numbers shifted slightly:

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Partners

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Partners

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Associate Partners

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Associates

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Associates

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Architects

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Architects

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Architectural Assistants

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Architectural Assistants

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Senior Designer

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Senior Designer

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Architectural Technologists

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Architectural Technologists

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Administrative Staff

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Administrative Staff

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Scottish Business Pledge and the Living Wage

We were pleased to become recognised as an Accredited Living Wage Employer and to add our signature to the Scottish Business Pledge in 2019. The pledge promotes fairness, equality, opportunity and innovation in Scotland, which in turn creates greater economic success and sustainable, inclusive growth. It is well aligned to the principles that we promote. For LDN it means: Paying the Real Living Wage This is the heart of the Scottish Business Pledge. It improves productivity and retention of personnel.

No Inappropriate Use of Zero Hours Contracts Offering guaranteed working hours increases commitment and reduces turnover. We have never used this form of contract.

Action to Address the Gender Pay Gap Taking action to address the gap in overall pay levels between men and women, known as the Gender Pay Gap, ensures a more committed workforce. Our practise is to review levels of remuneration irrespective of gender Environmental Impact Putting sustainability at the heart of your business can boost productivity, open up new markets and benefit your local community.

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Investing in a Skilled and Diverse Workforce Businesses who invest in skills and training with more employees from a range of age, ethnic and other diverse backgrounds are more innovative and productive.

Workforce Engagement Engaging with your workforce can create new business energy and improve organisational performance.

Innovation Encouraging employee-led creativity and innovations improves productivity.

Internationalisation Businesses which trade internationally tend to be more innovative, productive and competitive.

Support your Community Taking steps to build sustainable success within your local economy sets you apart from your competitors.

Prompt Payment Paying your bills promptly has a positive impact on your suppliers, especially small businesses.

Meeting Other Standards:

We are also pleased to report that in 2019, we were assessed as continuing to meet the quality standards of ISO 9001 and the health and safety standards of CHAS.

Awards We were delighted to have been awarded Building of the Year - 2019 by Edinburgh Architectural Association for our work in transforming the Church of St John the Evangelist at the iconic West End of Edinburgh's Princes Street. The project addresses the needs of the congregation, community groups, businesses, charities and visiting members of the public who use the building to create the life of the church.

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