BT Offices, Alexander Graham Bell House
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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
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