BT Offices, Alexander Graham Bell House
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Main facade
Peter Cook/VIEW (website) Download Original
Low-energy offices, with extensive views of the city of Edinburgh
A three-storey rectangular box contains most of the office functions, while the social functions – restaurant, café and boardroom – are located in a cylindrical drum sitting in a landscaped lake.
This drum is strategically sited to take maximum advantage of the wide-ranging views of Edinburgh Castle, the Pentland Hills and the Forth Bridge.
Glazing is limited on the entrance façade to provide it with a more private feel, while the lakeside elevation is fully glazed and backed by three-storey high voids.
To achieve good levels of natural lighting and ventilation, the building has a plan of 13.5m in depth. The concrete structure is exposed in order to maximize passive cooling and heat gains are controlled through the application of external louvers.
Data
- Begun: Dec 1997
- Completed: Mar 1998
- Floor area: 13,935m2
- Sector: Office
- Total cost: £18.2M
- Tender date: Oct 1997
- Procurement: JCT 1981 with contractor's design
- Address: Alexander Graham Bell House, 1 Lochside View, Edinburgh Park, Edinburgh, EH12 9DF, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Bennetts Associates
- Project architects: Denise Bennetts, Douglas Allard, Rab Bennetts
- Client: BT
- Project manager: Tozer Capita
- Quantity surveyor: Tozer Capita
- Structural engineer: Blyth & Blyth
- Services engineer: Roberts & Partners
- Main contractor: Balfour Beatty
Suppliers
- Feature stairs and balustrading: Charles Henshaw
- Louvre installation: Colt International
