In 1990 Nicholas Groves-Raines and Alan Murray were chosen alongside artist Alan Johnston to represent Scotland in an exhibition of 11 Nordic Countries in the Province of Friesland in Holland.

‘Twenty eight individuals from 11 Cities, seventeen architects and eleven artists, eleven teams from 11 Nations, realizing eleven autonomous pavilions. Eleven answers to one complex and dichotomous question: Develop and present an environment in which a personal, architecture creates the optimal ambiance for an equally personal art – or – develop a process of collaboration in which the two disciplines find expression in a fully integrated work of art. ‘

A stands for a basic symbol of shelter.
A is a new landmark of Icelandic mountains offering a refuge to hikers.
A provides shelter for up to ten people simultaneously along with self-generated hot water and electricity.
A embraces the traditional design of A-frame huts recognizable in Iceland and forms its own language.
A is a perfect shape for withstanding the harsh climate of Iceland, resisting wind and snow.
A is an adaptable architectural framework, not a single design.

This first-floor flat in a 19th-century building in Edinburgh’s historic New Town had suffered from several unsympathetic alterations before being carefully refurbished by GRAS in close collaboration with our design-led clients, Nina and Craig Plummer. Original features were delicately revealed and new elements thoughtfully introduced throughout the property, which was built in 1878 to house a church hall and offices. An expanded kitchen and enlarged opening onto the living space retain the sense of the original layout through the addition of panelled double doors that fold back to reveal crafted pieces of furniture by designer Sebastian Cox for deVOL Kitchens.

Highly curated new details sit beautifully alongside time-worn elements, whether existing or introduced. The flat has been attentively updated to reflect the slow-living philosophy promoted by Nina and Craig through their online homewares store, Ellei. The flat also serves as a studio used for styled photoshoots of Ellei’s products, so the design had to encapsulate the values of thoughtful homemaking. The renovation project retains the bright and spacious feel of the rooms along with a sense of building’s history, whilst providing spaces that are suited to a contemporary, considered way of living.

Annanhill House is magnificent A listed Georgian mansion, built for the Dunlop family in Kilmarnock. This house, dating from 1700 and altered in 1820s, suffered years of neglect when it was refurbished and converted in 1989 providing 6 spacious dwellings. A new Georgian style ‘stables’ development was built in the grounds, forming 20 houses.

Arniston House, one of Scotland’s architectural gems, was designed by William Adam and completed in the 1750s by his son; John Adam. Later alterations by John and Robert Adam resulted in the grandest rooms, the drawing room and the dining room. Sadly these were severely damaged by water ingress and subsequent dry rot in the 1950s. With grant aid from Historic Scotland these rooms have now been reinstated. The Dundas-Bekker family now open the house to the public.

An early James Adam House in the Merchant City, built in the 1790s. Originally forming the centre of a terrace, it was the only remaining building, completely derelict with the roof and top floor missing. Opened in 1985 Babbity Bowster is now a thriving bar with a restaurant and guest rooms. Babbity Bowster was awarded the Europa Nostra Silver Medal in 1986, RIAS Regeneration of Scotland Award in 1986 and a Civic Trust Award in 1987.

Balfour House, Cameron Toll, retirement home consisting of 49 flats, was built for Viewpoint Housing Association in 1983.

“Ingenious polychrome flats by Nicholas Groves-Raines…four storeys of red brick with yellow brick stripes along lintels and cornice, long and short yellow quoins at the windows and obtuse angles. The emphasis is horizontal in the window glazing, vertical in the framework that shoots up the front of each bay to make a triangular balcony on top.” The Buildings of Scotland EDINBURGH by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker, Penguin Books 1984.

The successful restoration of Bankton House marked the completion of a protracted campaign to save this historic house from vandalism and neglect. Built ca 1700, the house was gutted by fire in 1966 and reduced to little more than a shell: roofless, with no interior features. After eight years of painstaking work the house was faithfully restored using traditional materials and appropriate detailing. The house with two distinctive pavilions is now a landmark, visible on the north side of the A1 near Tranent. The restoration of this B listed mansion was supported by Historic Scotland and East Lothian Enterprise Trust.

BE Residence is a proposed new home for a growing family in Northern Ireland. It was conceived as a modern farmhouse drawing on the vernacular form and groupings of existing properties throughout the region.

The gentle slope of the site allows the building to hunker down into the landscape so it appears unimposing on approach from the north. The south, east and west elevations, however, open up to frame long views and maximise natural light throughout the day.

The building comprises several distinct but permeable volumes containing a variety of different functions, which are connected by an open central living space. The positioning, orientation, elevation and arrangement of forms allows uninterrupted views from and between these spaces and towards the surrounding open fields. A series of open-air terraces slotted in between offer unique views whilst allowing sunshine and shelter from the wind to be found. These terraces border the fields on all sides without walls or fences, gently connecting the house to the expansive, open landscape.

The house is split into three volumes, breaking the programme into the main two-storey family wing, the single-storey guest wing, and a connecting element in between that houses the kitchen, living and dining areas. Extended fingers of landscaping and stone retaining walls interact with the slightly sloping ground to help root the dwelling within the landscape. A single-storey garage projecting from the central link introduces the house on arrival as a stone wall that extends through the building to bridge the inside and outside.

As a direct response to the built agricultural and residential heritage of the immediate surroundings, the main material palette for the dwelling comprises stone rubble walls, untreated timber and a corrugated metal roof.

A-Listed Belmont House was built in 1775 on the most northerly of the Shetland Isles; Unst. The country house had fallen into an advanced state of dereliction when the Belmont Trust was established in 1996, with an aim to save and faithfully restore the building. The conservation philosophy was to disturb the existing fabric of the house as little as possible, whilst restoring the original fabric and features.

The full and detailed conservation of the interior and finishes was undertaken by a small team of local tradesmen from Unst. Original materials were re-used where possible and salvaged materials were introduced to match where required. The project received generous support from a number of agencies and charities, including Historic Scotland and Shetland Islands Council.

Photographs by Mark Sinclair

GRAS are working with Bostock Bakery to reconfigure their East Linton base to provide a new woodfires pizza area and café seating. The design uses a simple pallet of oak and reeded glass to form seating booths and tables, finished with simple upholstery. The design reimagines the circular Bostock logo as dowels in the seats and table tops, with triangular wall panels making reference to the cuts made pastry when making croissants

Broadwoodside Steading is an outstandingly successful restoration, conversion and extension of a B Listed farm steading, creating a generous family house featuring ample guest accommodation and stables. The historic building provided a sound framework within which comfortable, contemporary accommodation fits seamlessly. Completely new elements; the archway, doocot, loggia and ogee garden room were incorporated to give cohesion to an otherwise disparate group of farm buildings.

Brough Lodge, Fetlar, is undergoing a phased restoration project, orchestrated by the Brough Lodge Trust. Built in 1825, this highly unusual category A-listed gothic mansion has lain empty and unused in a very exposed environment since the 1980’s and has a great many conservation needs. The aim is to restore and creatively re-use the building as a mixed-use commercial venue, focusing on hosting short courses and activities involving the arts and environmental themes.

Brough Lodge will benefit the local community by maximising the potential for development of the tourist market, expanding knowledge and understanding of Fetlar’s cultural background and creating new jobs and economic diversification: essential to the island’s long-term survival and future development. The first phase of carefully prioritised conservation and repair works was completed in 2016 with generous funding from Historic Environment Scotland and Shetland Amenity Trust.

GRAS has combined Scottish Ash, concrete and stainless-steel to form the restrained interior of buff – a design-led manicure studio in Edinburgh. Sustainably sourced timber was layered with contemporary materials, transforming the Victorian stone arched interior into an evocative, tactile experience. A series of carefully proposed joinery items designed for the studio creates a harmonious offering, resonating with clients’ own ethos and rooted in a functional simplicity.

In the context of an increasingly visible ash dieback disease caused by the fungus, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, that is still projected to affect up to 75% Scottish Ash, the project offered opportunity to address ecological but also ethical urgency of material choices and specification. The process of sourcing and making of the joinery was a result of another close collaboration with Edinburgh-based designer and maker, Daniel Brophy.

Following the successful interior refurbishment of the buff concept store, GRAS embarked on a transformative journey with the clients, thoughtfully redecorating the office spaces within the A-listed former St Ninian’s Manse in Leith, Edinburgh. The client’s aim was to cultivate a serene oasis conducive to expanding the studio’s offerings towards contemplative well-being rituals. The project encompassed internal redecoration and bespoke furniture fabrication, drawing on GRAS’s fruitful collaboration with Edinburgh’s artisan, Daniel Brophy.

The chosen material palette for this understated intervention was neutral, tactile, and naturally derived. Marble paint was used for the lime-plastered internal stone walls, emphasising their elemental feel. Scottish Oak and Limestone were chosen the bespoke joinery, and powder-coated steel and painted timber for more conventional storage cabinetry. These choices seamlessly integrated with the historic fabric of the space, allowing GRAS to unearth and accentuate the lost domestic character of the former manse.

Caisteal Bharraich is a dramatic and historically significant scheduled monument that sits high above the Kyle of Tongue in Sutherland. The exact date of the rectangular tower’s construction remains uncertain, but there is significant evidence suggesting the earliest possible construction date was around the first half of the 15th century. Later records show that surprisingly few alterations have been made since this time. However, during the winter of 2015 large sections of the monument suffered severe weather damage and GRAS was commissioned to stabilise and consolidate the ancient monument.

Completed in 2006, this ogee roofed pavilion was an extension to a 16th century Towerhouse. The stone built pavilion opens onto the garden, accommodating a dining room and ancillary rooms. It sits comfortably in its setting, complementing both the Towerhouse and its Georgian extension.

Part of Robert Adam’s most famous square, the principal rooms at no 3 had never been completed. The design of the new plaster ceiling was carried out in the spirit of Adam and constructed by master plasterers.

The design of the new library has the ambition to become a local sub-center located between the inner and outer bypass of the city of Olomouc, in the Nové Sady housing estate. At first glance, the introverted building opens into the housing estate through a newly designed outdoor space, which carries with it a claim to clarify and recultivate the surrounding environment so that it is possible to create a dignified pre-space for newly emerging public institution.

The library building looks modest on the outside, but it attracts with its elegant timber façade of the 1st floor extension, which suggests the uniqueness of the internal function. It offers generous spaces and accommodating gestures to enrich social life, culture, education, and concentration. The ambition of the design was not to create an architectural icon, but to focus on the harmonious connection of building with its environment and especially the general logic and functionality of the entire space. 

Bespoke light design and interior scheme for the refurbishment of the retail unit at Waverley Mall. Minimal language of colour and light gave new life to the unused space, serving as a contemporary background for the independent retailers pop-ups.

Photography by Jaroslaw Mikos

Following the success of the 2016 showcase at London Design Fair, GRAS was re-commissioned by Craft Scotland and Emergents to design and build a stand for use at various shows throughout 2017-2019, including the Collect event at London’s Saatchi Gallery. GRAS developed a modular and reusable structure that provided a platform for each designer to showcase their own work, while also presenting the collective as a cohesive whole. The display was conceived to be highly engaging and elegant in its own right, reflecting the showcase’s focus on craftsmanship and design, while being subservient to the work being presented.

The category A-listed former Dowanhill Church was built in 1865 with interiors and stained glass by Daniel Cottier. The building is owned by a charitable trust, FACT, whose aim is to advance the arts and heritage for the benefit of the local community. GRAS has worked over many years with FACT to convert this church in Glasgow’s West End into a sustainable and vibrant theatre, arts and wedding venue, restaurant and bar.

An initial priority was to carry out urgent repairs and follow these up, as grant funds became available, with full conservation repairs. The timing of the later repairs has had to be balanced with adaptations to the building to enable sustainable uses to emerge combining commercial activities with cultural uses. We have also had to find creative solutions to meet statutory safety standards without compromising the character and original fabric of the building. This involved creating a bar and restaurant in the smaller building, thus generating an income stream capable of supporting funding applications for the repair and upgrading of the main building. Afterwards, comprehensive repair of the external fabric was undertaken. This was then followed by a major engineering project to create a basement below the auditorium, expanding the useable floor area as well as improving functionality and operational needs. Conservation phases have included restoration of the original decorative scheme and the fine Willis organ.

The design took the form of a ‘skeletal’ assemblage. Individual frames were customised for the artist and created a boundary encapsulating display pieces. The frames were joined to create a continuous structure which lightly floats within the room, allowing viewers to move in and out of the space – becoming part of the exhibition itself. Varying dimensions and heights allowed for  for the framework to be re-usable and recyclable in the future elsewhere.

Craigmillar Community Arts Centre is a category B-Listed former church in the West of Edinburgh. With the help of Big Lottery funding, the charity’s aim was to re-engage with the local community, providing an arts and community hub for the area. GRAS worked closely with CCA to focus on creating a more practical building, with a significant architectural intervention, including a new mezzanine, upgraded kitchen and WC facilities and improved accessibility throughout.

Change of use and restoration of late 19th century derelict brewery to form 22 new town houses and apartments. The building’s courtyard and walled garden were reinstated and new timber architectural elements took their cues from the building’s early industrial aesthetic.

RIBA Award for Scotland 1988 Architecture Award
Edinburgh Architectural Association Annual Award for Architecture  Commendation 1987

The project involved restoration of the listed external fabric and remodelling the interior, including the replacement of the original timber roof structures, to create a light and modern space for living and working.

Conceived by GRAS, Custom Lane is a collaborative platform created to identify, support and celebrate emerging world-class design in Scotland. Occupying part of a 19th-century Custom House in the heart of Leith, Custom Lane aims to provide Scotland’s most engaging, enriching and enjoyable work environment for designers and design-led makers. Working closely with the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, which manages the site on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, GRAS has overseen the transformation of the previously inaccessible building into a vibrant creative hub.

GRAS have recently completed a contemporary extension and refurbishment of a family home in Corstorphine. The ground floor is significantly reconfigured and extended to provide a large kitchen, family room, and dining room with large slim profile sliding doors on to the garden. A first floor extension provides an additional bedroom and is conceived as an elemental sculptural form clad it tiles to match the existing roof.

A new-build private house on the site of a previous farmhouse, Drumskew was designed not only to enjoy its fine views of the countryside, by virtue of its elevated position, but also to have an internal focus to the enclosed courtyard. the detailed design of the building reflects design traditions of the region.

GRAS recently completed accessibility works to the East Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen undertaken on behalf of the Open Space Trust. This £350k project saw the formation of a wheelchair ramp and the provision of an accessible WC and kitchen to the Chapel of St Mary, a late-medieval chapel which forms the undercroft of the larger church which was substantially re-built in the nineteenth century. These works are an initial step to improve public access to the chapel while a larger project to transform the East Kirk emerges.

GRAS have been appointed to sensitively upgrade, repair and extend the village hall in East Lothian, providing a local community hub fit for the 21st century, unlocking its potential and opening it up to a wider group of users. Partial funding has already been secured from Fred Olsen Crystal Rig Wind Farm and works on site are scheduled to commence in Spring 2022.

A new-build private house in the Italianate manner with traditional detailing and materials of high quality. The design takes advantage of the spectacular views over Gullane Golf Course on it’s southern boundary.

Edinample Castle, an L-shaped B-listed 16th Century towerhouse overlooks the banks of Loch Earn. Edinample was a derelict shell with a large 19th century extension when the Groves-Raines family bought it in 1985. After 6 years of work, it was sold in 1991, largely restored and its future secured.

GRAS has submitted a planning application on behalf of a local community group, the Friends of Water of Leith Basin, for the replacement of the existing and now rather dilapidated mural of Scottish Artist Eduardo Paolozzi at 73 Henderson Street in Leith. The existing mural was commissioned by Friends of the Water of Leith Basin and installed in 2014 with the support of Leith Late, a Scottish Charity supported by the City of Edinburgh Council and Bailie Gifford. It sits within the frontage of a vacant shop unit that has lain empty and unused for many years, and depicts a portrait of Eduardo Paolozzi, the internationally renowned Scottish Artist who was born in Leith in 1924. The mural has since deteriorated and become badly weathered and is now beyond feasible repair. It is therefore proposed that the mural be replaced.

The new mural will remain a portrait of Eduardo Paolozzi, this time as an older man, with some recognizable Leith landmarks in the background portrayed in the Pop Art style, based on Paolozzi’s work. The artist is Halla Groves-Raines, who studied at Glasgow School of Art and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. The proposed works will include taking down the existing mural and support, building a new subframe, fitting the surface boards, scanning, printing, and mounting the mural. This is the same method that was used last time, albeit using more durable materials, including marine grade plywood for the surface boards and stainless steel fixings.

Read more via GRAS Journal.

Constructed in c.1810, Eriboll Church was an unused kirk overlooking Loch Eriboll. Located right on the North Coast 500 route, the building was in poor condition and had no existing vehicle access or utilities when GRAS were appointed to upgrade and repair the whole building. Today, it is again available for occasional church services for locals and visitors alike.  Internally, the building has been enhanced by the discreet installation of all new building services, the reinstatement of original plastered finishes and two new windows in the nave to let in additional natural light. Externally, a comprehensive programme of repairs has been undertaken using traditional materials, and a discreet new carpark and landscaping have been introduced to minimise impacts on the sensitive location.

The Eric Liddell Centre was a competition winning entry for the conservation and conversion of the redundant B-listed North Morningside Parish Church into a local community centre founded in memory of the Olympic gold medallist. The owners are a care charity, set up by the four congregations of the local churches, who work to provide alternative services to vulnerable people including those with dementia.

The project involved a radical intervention within the protected church nave to provide the required accommodation; creatively inserting a bold new structure within the existing building to create a reception, café, offices and flexible new rooms and suites that are available to hire to generate income and therefore ensure the project’s long-term future. GRAS and the structural engineers collaborated closely on this significant intervention, which additionally allows for closer enjoyment of the fine William Wilson stained glass windows, to ensure that the external shell of the building and the local conservation area remained unaffected by the development. All of the existing fabric of the building, including the glazing, was also carefully conserved and repaired as part of the grant-funded works. This marriage of imaginative reuse, conservation and upgrading has created a successful community hub that is welcoming, practical to manage and sustainable.  

Constructed circa 1575, this L-plan tower house, a scheduled monument, lay in ruins for many years. Ancient Monuments Consent was granted for a full restoration of the ‘A’ listed building to a private house, in close collaboration with the Ancient Monuments Division of Historic Scotland. The restoration was meticulously carried out using appropriate materials and techniques, in keeping with the building, its character and significance.

Forter Castle lies at the head of Glenisla, at the entrance to the Balloch Pass to Glenshee and the Moncea Pass to Breamar. Built by the Ogilvies of Airlie in 1560 it was only occupied for 80 years when it was sacked in 1640. Forter remained derelict for 340 years until 1988 when it was purchased by the Pooley family. It had lost all interior details including the stairs and vaults and required considerable research to ascertain the original layout and details. The restoration from a roofless ruin took two years. The project was awarded financial assistance from Historic Scotland.

This proposal seeks to create a highly functional, flexible and adaptable series of structures which reflect the creative energy and diversity of the Fringe Street Events, while providing the conditions to maximise the engagement and enjoyment of visitors. These structures will be designed and built with a consistently bold visual style, connecting all components from entrance gate to market stall to stage.

The physical configuration and appearance of each backdrop, stage or entrance gate can be simply configured to suit the ever-changing performers’ requirements by manually rotating, sliding or moving components. The alteration of the structure is at first functional: to provide a backdrop which best suits a specific performance; to provide some shelter from the rain; or to communicate a new message to reflect the day’s activities. When extrapolated over the length of the street, these alterations will have playful and surprising results.

Introducing an element of augmented reality to the structures, the experience gains another layer where the visitors can navigate through the events and find more information about the ongoing events.
Through constant engagement by performers, visitors and even changes in the weather, the whole structure is in a continuing state of flux: never the same twice; interchangeable hour by hour, day by day and year by year. Feeding off one another, the structures, performers and people become a hypnotic theatrical performance. As well as their energetic and lively existence, the structures also provide places of calm and escape where one can retreat from the crowds for example via an elevated platform, to observe and watch as the entertainment continues below.

Refurbishment of a former tourist office within the mall to accommodate temporary premises of the Fruitmarket Bookshop. The space was radically transformed by exposing the concrete slab ceiling, floor, installing new seating and bespoke lighting. Continuing the language of minimal interventions, like introducing mild steel counters and plywood sheeting for walls, allowed the book store to carefully curate the book display, spaces for reading, events and a small office. The connection between W&J café and the book store drew visitors to newly-designed seating areas overlooking the atrium.

Photography by Jaroslaw Mikos

The Galleria Temporanea, or Transient Gallery, formed part of Scotland’s contribution to the International Architecture Exhibition during the Venice Biennale in 2012. The mobile pop-up gallery explored the significance of everyday functional objects that create or enhance a sense of collective identity across the communities that use them. It presented these often forgotten or overlooked artefacts in a gallery-like environment to celebrate their history and encourage debate on the relevance of such shared functional objects in past, present and future communities.

Often operating without official consents, the gallery was erected in minutes and remained in situ for approximately one hour in each location, before being dismantled as quickly as it arrived. The project was made possible through extensive experimentation and collaboration with artist Tim Taylor, along with joiners, stone masons and fabricators whose expertise contributed significantly to the outcome. The project was delivered on a very low budget and was built, transported and erected by GRAS in various locations in Venice, before returning to Scotland for use during events in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

In Venice, the Galleria Temporanea was installed around the disused wells that dot the city, temporarily isolating, framing and objectifying them as important works of architecture. The design responded to the Biennale’s theme of ‘Common Ground’ which invited architects to reflect on “continuity, context and memory” in the discipline of architecture. The gallery consisted of several interlocking panels featuring an outer surface made from rough, hand-carved polystyrene. The heat-sealed polystyrene evoked the aged surfaces of the stone wells and the walls were topped with a smooth upper course into which the project’s title was carved in a capitalised Roman-style font.

GRAS are working closely with our clients at the heart of historic Gattonside, on the River Tweed, near Melrose. The project involves the careful restoration of the first-floor apartment, converting the attic and re-configuring the living spaces.

The proposal introduces a new stair to the attic, allowing for a new spacious bedroom to be neatly tucked above the large living room, dining and kitchen. The newly created bedroom benefits from a large, walk-in wardrobe with storage and culminating in a bathroom. The design is informed by an already present, minimal language punctuated by industrial elements. A carefully curated material palette reflects the clients’ sense of aesthetic along with their awareness of the environmental impact of the project. Interventions are formed in naturally finished larch and ash wood, lightly textured walls and durable floors. The project is due to begin construction in early 2022 and will seek to emphasise the collaborative process between local craftspeople and trades in its delivery.

Gayfield Creative Spaces was an arts hub based in and around a former tyre depot by Gayfield Square in Edinburgh that provided a venue for exciting artist, designer, maker and gallery initiatives from 2013 to 2017. GRAS was tasked with redeveloping the tyre depot to establish a range of venues, workshops, galleries, studios and flexible events spaces that could support high-quality, cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Prior to alteration, the building was composed of a series of beautiful but disconnected and dysfunctional post-industrial spaces with remarkably varied characters. The challenge was to subtly unite these spaces and allow them to work together, creating a new, versatile home for the arts that was far greater than the sum of its parts.

Through the design process, the proposed interventions were simplified and reduced to their absolute necessity in a constant distillation and re-evaluation of the brief. The result was the most modest of interventions required to unlock the building, providing new facilities and circulation routes using a consistent and binding architectural language.

Kennels Cottage is situated in the Cairngorms National Park offering breath taking views of the Glen with its ancient Caledonian Pine forest and the hills beyond. The Cottage was refurbished internally to upgrade the previous tartan inspired interior to a refreshing cool contemporary feel with an eclectic mix of the best of well-known design items and original Highland architecture.

The space holds a carefully selected range of handmade Scandinavian furniture with a bespoke and curated collection of Scottish handcrafted fixtures. This includes the oak kitchen table, bunk beds with oak ladder, built in display shelves and pitch pine boarding made from reclaimed floorboards. Slim underfloor heating has been installed and reclaimed floorboards were re-laid. The kitchen and utility room includes polished flooring made from Caithness slabs, handcrafted fitted units and oak worktops.

To create a more cosy and comforting interior the living room has been lined with wood-panelling which surrounds the open fire. This now contemporary interior combined with elements of the original mid Victorian cottage reflects the Scottish traditions of hunting and sheltering people from the harsh but stunning natural climate, representing comfort and warmth. Kennels Cottage is part of Wildland projects.

Interior design by Ruth Kramer and photography by Martin Kaufmann.

GRAS have been invited by Glenrothes Distillery to develop proposals for the upgrade and refurbishment of on-site distillery offices, welfare facilities and sample room. Located in the Speyside area in the north of Scotland, the distillery is made up from a collection of warehouse buildings surrounded by an undulating landscape, where the water source for the whisky is also located. The original Distillery was built on the site of an old mill in Rothes in 1878.

With a focus on quality materials and ‘discerning luxury’ the proposals looked to elevate the distillery’s functional needs with innate flair and ‘daring elegance’, whilst staying true to the authentic, grounded feel of the rest of the distillery.

Goblusk House is situated on the banks of Loch Erne. The design was based on Palladio’s Villa Forni-Cerato, with further influences taken from a neighbouring Victorian Italianate mansion. The plan of this family house is centered on a dramatic elliptical stair surmounted by a glazed cupola.

In 1969 Nicholas Groves-Raines bought this small cottage on Gola Island two miles off the Donegal Coast. Set within a clachan of now largely derelict houses, the cottage has over the years been conserved and very carefully modernised not to spoil its original charm. It now has running water and electricity and provides a wonderful bolthole for the whole family.

GRAS were approached by a private client to prepare a full planning application for the conversion of two redundant barns located on Gwendreath Farm in Cornwall, on the Lizard Peninsula into one residential unit. Located in a rural, wooded farm setting, the barns are surrounded by dense shrub and mature trees to the south, west and east, with a mature woodland to the north. The woodland continues into a wooded valley down to Kennack Sands.

The two buildings are distinct in their design with a single-storey L-shaped barn to the north of the site and a two storey smaller barn to the south of the site. The South Barn is built exclusively from natural stone whereas the North Barn is a combination of stone and concrete block work. The driving design intent is the sympathetic renovation of the existing setting, whilst providing the necessary improvements to the building to provide a contemporary home that meets our client’s requirements. The sensitive approach to repairing and retaining stonework is paired with the focus of new materials that are natural or agricultural in aesthetic to preserve the visual character of the barns whilst sensitively sitting within its rural setting.

Hay’s Dock forms part of the new Shetland Museum and Archive in Lerwick. Built in 1815 by the firm of Hay and Ogilvy, it forms an important and integral part of Shetland’s maritime heritage. The work consisted of the restoration and repair of the oldest surviving man-made dock in Shetland, the fingerpier, the area around the dock and the boat-building shed. Traditional methods and materials were used throughout, such as lime and wrought iron. The project was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland Shetland Island Council and others.

This modest development provides compact living space for two people in the grounds of a rural cottage in East Lothian. Springing from an existing single-pitched rubble-stone and clay tile outhouse, three new intersecting volumes built from reclaimed materials step, twist, and shift in response to the topography, daylight, and views. The result is a form both of its place and out of time. The proportion and arrangement of interior spaces allow just enough space for comfortable living and working, always in direct visual connection with the surrounding rural landscape of cliff, river, forest, and field. The simple material palette of these interiors consists of concrete, oak, lime plaster, black steel, soft leather, and glass.

The aim of this project was to interrogate the notion of a building as a product rather than a process. By allowing visitors the chance to see Hill House as they have never seen it before, the Hill House Visitor Centre would have demanded an alternative perspective on the nature of permanence, the role of conservation and the future of Hill House. In collaboration with Invisible College / NVA, our proposal was to invite the public to engage in the story of a building as it emerges through its period of construction, use, and ultimate disassembly. Set alongside the planned conservation works on Hill House, this would have proven an engaging, thought-provoking and progressive critique on the future of Mackintosh’s buildings, and indeed all existing buildings.

Positioned along the back wall of the garden, the Hill House Visitor Centre provides a visible and accessible gateway to the grounds from both the traditional gated entrance and the carpark to the rear. From atop the garden wall, the visitor would experience a side of Hill House not usually acknowledged, while also enjoying a view of the River Clyde beyond the rooftops of Helensburgh. In contrast to the sculptural mass of Hill House, the Visitor Centre comprised a skeletal structure of scaffolding that sits lightly on the ground, stepping over the wall and bridging the carpark and garden; woodland and house.

Low cost, readily available and easy to assemble: traditionally, scaffolding is the parasite that clings to a building, In this instance, however, the scaffolding itself is the host, with the voids between the poles providing the spaces into which building boxes are nested. A definitively temporary architecture, this building is modular, demountable and adaptable. Its fragmented form allows the existing trees to remain standing in the voids of the structure, and encourages new growth to interact with the building over the temporary period of its existence.

A single cord or rope is passed through tubes of varying lengths, cut and arranged to create a triangulated shape, and is pulled tight so that the cord is acting in tension and the tubes are compressed.
The route through the tubes is planned so that it can be accomplished in one pass without doubling back and is then used to lash a surface to the frame. We refer to them as ‘Himmeli inspired tubular structures.’

Now a private shooting lodge, Hopes House in East Lothian was built in1823 for the Hays at Yester by James Burn of Haddington. Work consisted of a complete refurbishment of the original house and the redesign and replacement of the rear service wing to include catering kitchen and staff accommodation. Within the walled garden are new ogee-roofed pavilions creating further staff accommodation. External works include landscaping, new tennis court and fountain.

HRBR is a custom designed and built retail display installed in the reception of the Custom Lane gallery space and café in Leith. The project’s title references its setting in Edinburgh’s historic harbour district.

A modular approach, based on the multiplication of standard cabinet sizes, allows for easy reconfiguration of the display units. A system of movable shelves and trays creates a continuous play of transparency, while the solidity and geometry of the oak storage brings structural stability and visual balance to the freestanding object. Reflective, satin-brass frames contrast beautifully with the matte, naturally ebonised oak, helping to emphasise HRBR’s timeless, minimal aesthetic.

HRBR was developed and fabricated in collaboration with Edinburgh-based maker and designer, Daniel Brophy. It showcases a curated programme of products, artworks and exhibits produced by partners including retailers, designers and makers working in a variety of media.

Internal Alterations to a B-listed, three-storey townhouse on India Street in Edinburgh’s New Town. The project involved the faithful restoration of the property, returning several rooms to their original configuration and reinstating or repairing a range of original features. Stonework, roofing, window and drainage repairs were carried out on the exterior of the building, and where possible, existing floorboards were preserved.

New electrical, central heating and plumbing systems were designed and installed with great care and attention to detail to ensure that they did not have a detrimental effect on the quality of the building, while radiators and fittings were specified to match the buildings period, with the exception of a contemporary kitchen, designed and installed by Newcastle Kitchens.

Inveravon Church, Ballindalloch, has four Class I Incised Pictish Symbol stones; dating from around the 6th Century AD. The stones depict representations of the ‘Pictish Beast,’ the most iconic of all the Pictish Symbols. Set into the south wall of the church, the stones were exposed to the problematic freeze-thaw cycle of the Highland site. The mounting of the stones was also causing damp ingress through the wall of the church. The stones were conserved and carefully removed from the wall. Now relocated in the stable environment of the North porch, they are complemented by the installation of interpretation panels.

Designed in collaboration with Architect, Nicholas Groves-Raines, this structure, which serves as a composting area and garden store, is an organic extension of the garden and the woven edging to the paths from which it springs. Its origins are derived from basket weave or hazel hurdles using woven rebar and corten steel. The organic form embraces a 5 ton boulder on the site and is located at the furthest corner of the garden, providing a point of interest for garden visitors and for walkers on the adjacent Water of Leith Walkway.

Photographs copyright of Dan Farrar

The proposed family dwelling is located in Uig, a small village at Timsgarry on the Isle of Lewis. The house sits on an exposed site with immersive coastal views towards the southwest. The massing of the development is divided into three volumes containing the house, annex accommodation and garage which helps to break up the overall scale. The staggered arrangement of these elements references the asymmetric plans that are typical in the area, while the inclusion of prominent chimney stacks also evokes the local vernacular.

The building’s orientation on the site takes into consideration the views, sun path and prevailing winds. The main spaces are oriented to take the full advantage of the main southwest panoramic view and to allow morning and evening sunlight to enter. The main entrances to the house and annex on the north facades are protected from the southeast prevailing winds.

The material palette for the property responds directly to the built heritage of the immediate surroundings, whilst also aiming to provide a modern take on the farmhouse dwelling. The proposed cladding is a mixture of textured, painted wet-dash render on the lower part of the facades, with lighter timber above. The materials are distributed across the development to create a sense of scale more characteristic of the area. The pitched roofs of all three volumes are covered with corrugated metal sheets reminiscent of typical agricultural buildings.

The Isle of May Light Beacon is a Scheduled Ancient Monument located on the Isle of May in the middle of the Firth of Forth. Dating from circa 1636, it is the earliest purpose-built lighthouse in Scotland and thought to be one of the oldest surviving lighthouse structures in the world. Over the years the building fell out of use and traditional repair materials were substituted for a more economical short-term solution, this combined with a reduced available workforce resulted in the repair and maintenance being increasingly compromised. Following increasing concerns over the condition of the building, GRAS were appointed to carry out a detailed survey of the building and make recommendations for its conservation and repair. Scheduled Ancient Monument consent was granted and through collaboration with both Historic Environment Scotland and a team of specialist conservators a schedule of works was delivered securing the longer-term future of the building.

Weather and tidal conditions often imposed logistical challenges, as well as the limitations placed on the times of year in which construction works could take place due to the Forth Islands being a Special Protected Area. The overall works included masonry repairs, re-harling, the application of limewash, replacement of defective joinery and the careful conservation of the armorial panel above the entrance door. This project required an informed and collaborative approach, involving several different stakeholders with often conflicting priorities. Thorough research and a meticulous approach to pre-planning and phasing of the works was essential, as well as ensuring that sufficient on-site quality control was maintained.

Originally bought by Nicholas Groves-Raines and Kristin Hannesdottir in the 1980’s the basement was a disused part of a B-listed city centre tenement block in the Tron area of Glasgow. The flats above were developed and sold but the basement lay disused for over twenty years until GRAS was formed in October 2006. GRAS took occupancy in the small ground floor shop and began work developing the space beneath them.

For four months GRAS acted as tenants, architects, clients, project managers and often labourers, allowing them to view the project in detail from a number of different viewpoints. Great efforts were made to maximise the available floor area and ceiling height while trying to retain as much of the dramatic character of the space. The unassuming shop front entry at 11 James Morrison Street leads through the reception areas, at the rear of which an industrial mesh stairwell, lit from below leads down to the lower ground level studio space where five backlit sandstone columns stand complimented by clean white walls and a slate grey floor. The floor steps down from here to a sequence of double height studio spaces centred on large brick buttresses, lit by a full height glazed door to the commonly owned garden at the rear of the building. The resulting space is unexpected by the visitor and full of hints of Glasgow’s history, from the hand made brick walls to the remnants of Glasgow’s historic street frontages now hidden far below ground level.

Restoration of a listed country house – parts of which date to the 17th century, with much 19th century addition – from a hotel back to a family home. Complete refit of main house, with extensive stripping out, was required to remove unsympathetic alterations, stop the progress of rot and neglect, and to introduce new, modern services to create a comfortable family home.

The project included alterations to and restoration of the 19th century stable block to form staff accommodation and a party room. Also included was the restoration of the 19th century Lodge House with the addition of a new timber framed extension and repairs and restoration of the Doocot, Apple House and greenhouse.

Killiehuntly is a luxury self-catering property belonging to a collection of extraordinary restored retreats that form part of the Wildland conservation project. The large 19th-century farmhouse and steading form the centrepiece of a rural estate in the Cairngorms National Park. All buildings have been carefully restored under GRAS’s direction with the use of local, natural materials and traditional skills. The interiors have been sensitively upgraded for contemporary living, whilst retaining historic architectural features and character throughout. The farmhouse opened in spring 2016 as a serviced holiday let, with its various outbuildings serving as additional accommodation. The restoration included returning the original water wheel to working order, providing a strong reference to the agricultural heritage of the farm.

The creation of a comfortable, and contemporary dwelling through the refurbishment and re-instatement of this 17th Century category B listed farmhouse and steading range, including the restoration of an original tower house and mill wheel. Lightweight elements were introduced to link new accommodation in the steading buildings. Alterations to the steading itself are limited and seek to maintain the character of the existing courtyard, resulting in a dignified and practical family residence.

The existing 2 bedroom dwelling in King Edward’s Road, London was extended to provide a larger living space with an additional master bedroom. The design transformed the previously dark segmented property into a light, spacious family home. The material palette consists of subtly textured plaster, white oiled Douglas fir, pale brick, accent features in warm dark wood, chrome and black matt metal. Photography by Sustainable Kitchens.

Located just south of the iconic Kyle of Tongue on Scotland’s north coast, Kinloch Lodge is a Victorian sporting  lodge reimagined for the 21st century. What was a rather spartan and tired holiday home has been transformed into a luxurious oasis over several phases of work in conjunction with Wildland’s creative director, Ruth Kramer. The main house has been carefully repaired and upgraded inside using warm tones and natural materials, enhanced by the addition of a new conservatory to link the house and beautifully replanted gardens in all seasons. The kitchens have also received a full rethink, creating practical but beautiful workspaces befitting the carefully selected Scottish ingredients used to prepared the curated guest meals.

Outside, landscaping by Richard Preston Garden Design softly connects the main house with the collection of corrugated-iron clad outbuildings; each of which has been repaired and then reconfigured internally. While the smaller buildings contain necessary back-of-house facilities, including all new heating and power equipment, the larger Annex provides indoor space to play with room for film nights, yoga, as well as spa treatments.

Category A-listed Kirk of St Nicholas in Aberdeen is one of the most important and oldest ecclesiastical buildings in Scotland. The Open Space Trust, a charity, seeks to develop a visionary scheme to re-integrate the former East Kirk with the heart of the city and provide a place to be used by the city’s people. GRAS have worked with the OST over a number of years to prepare for a comprehensive scheme to reconfigure the interior of the historic church for a multitude of new occupants and uses. Before any works could begin, an extensive study and internal archaeological investigation was carried out. This provided an incredible insight into the building’s history and revealed many burials that have been painstakingly excavated.

Following on from these works, an initial phase of external fabric repairs and restoration works was undertaken to stabilise the shell of the building, involving the replacement of inadequate roof slating with a new lead sheet finish, extensive dry rot repairs, comprehensive repair and replacement of all stained and leaded glass panels, associated tracery stonework and repair to the granite stonework, pointing and cast-iron work. GRAS are currently working on creation of an internal crypt in which the excavated remains are to be reinterred, replacement and relocation of heating plant to the Kirk’s steeple, and both funding applications and discussion with Aberdeen City Council and others with regard to the major scheme to refurbish and reconfigure the whole of the East Kirk in the future.

The Lake House is a project for a family home on the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. The client approached GRAS to create a house which could simultaneously cater for the parent couple but also their children and grandchildren.

Using the challenge of a House which could expand and contract for two people and a house for 50 people; GRAS consider the project as a typological study on the evolution of the home in North America and in particular the suburban home. The re-interpretation of domestic and vernacular architectural influences occurs from the beginning of the Western inhabitation of America to the current day and it is the cross-pollination of influence which gives character to the Lake House project. The project aims to create an American sub-urban home but with a European and Scottish influence.

The listed three-storey 18th century Castle Hotel in Stirling was perched on the cliff to the side of the castle’s esplanade. In 1971 it was converted to a Landmark interpretation centre for Scottish history. A radically modern approach was called for to signify the dilapidated hotel’s reinvention. State of the art materials were used to create the new foyer, ramped exhibition space and panoramic auditorium. Three new replacement ‘capsule’ bay windows allow panoramic views over the surrounding landscape.

The category A-listed Town Hall in Lerwick dates from 1883 and is the most important civic building in Shetland. GRAS were commissioned to carry out an ambitious £1.2 million restoration and repair package incorporating the conservation and protection of a nationally significant collection of secular stained glass windows, designed and created by several of the leading makers of the time. The stained glass windows in the building had suffered for many years due to their harsh salt-laden environment; and although efforts had been made over the years to conserve them by applying external flexible polycarbonate sheeting, it had not been enough to significantly protect the historic glass.

The traditional isothermal glazing method was adopted and a prototype designed and built which addressed the very specific technical issues caused by the previous restoration methods and the particular physical environment. Following extensive research and testing, GRAS with Cannon MacInnes developed and installed a newly-patented non-ferrous isothermal glazing system which isolates the glass from the external environment while providing full adjustability and accessibility for maintenance. Further to this, the most deteriorated masonry around the windows openings has been removed and replaced with a salt-resistant stone with high cohesive strength which will result in good longevity and resilience to the extreme maritime external environment. These technical improvements, combined with the creation of sensitive interpretation have opened up the building to the public, increased the number of visitors to the area and greatly enhanced the long-term prospects for the building.

The restoration of a derelict listed 18th century cottage adjacent to Cameron Toll shopping mall & car park. Once a home to Conan Doyle in childhood, the house was gifted to the Cockburn Conservation Trust who engaged the services of GRAS to faithfully restore the fabric and convert its use for Dunedin School, a charity specialising in teaching educationally fragile pupils. Works were partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the City of Edinburgh Council and funds raised by Dunedin School.

Liberton House is an A-listed, fortified house, built in the late 16th century, and was home to the Groves-Raines family and Groves-Raines Architects until moving to Lamb’s House in 2010. Gutted by fire in 1991 after a long period of neglect, the house and gardens have been restored and now form a comfortable modern home and offices with a beautiful Renaissance garden.

Lissan Demesne, Cookstown, is an estate owned by a charity for the benefit of the local community. When GRAS became involved, the whole property was in poor repair after decades of declining fortunes. Following a Feasibility Study, GRAS completed emergency repairs at Lissan House and a Conservation Management Plan of the estate. Major phase 1 works then followed, involving external restoration and internal upgrading of the house, improvements to access and parking, construction of an adventure play area, and collaboration with an external consultant to provide discreet interpretation. GRAS worked with key stakeholders to retain Lissan’s character as a unique family home and provide visitors with an insight into the history of its occupants. Phase 2  works, for the repair and conversion of the adjacent outbuildings to form further visitor facilities will recommence when funding becomes available.

The Literature House is the flagship project of the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust. The project brings together two iconic Edinburgh buildings, John Knox House and the Scottish Storytelling Centre, to form a welcoming hub for Edinburgh as a literary city and Scotland as a literary nation. The Literature House will be a lively place of encounter with a mix of events and a visitor attraction. The offerings will include events spaces, interpretive experience , café and meeting place , bookshop and information centre.

The proposals require a sensitive crafted approach to deal with a complex set of buildings on a complicated site, and a highly aspirational brief. Witherford Watson Mann and GRAS have been working closely together on a feasibility study to develop a scheme which also improves accessibility, enhances the flow between the two buildings, and upgrades their fabric and services.

Pre-fabricated modular house type suitable for a variety of sites in the Scottish Highlands. The principle ambition of this project is to create a series of high quality dramatic but functional spaces which have a strong relation with their natural surroundings in every direction and make effective use of natural light and ventilation. The square plan means the building can be sited in many different locations without significant alteration while the plan can be easily rotated or mirrored to suit different orientations and access points. The living / dining room is the largest space, located centrally and connected via covered external spaces to each of the four external elevations. This space is connected directly to each of the surrounding internal spaces: study / library, art studio, kitchen and the main bedroom. Each of these spaces can be opened to the surrounding wilderness and living spaces or they can be closed to create more intimate, private spaces. The large glazed openings to the main living space provide dramatic, framed views to the surrounding loch and woodland and a large roof-light allows clear views to the sky above.

The building has a simple, rational plan and utilises common tried and tested materials and techniques to create a unique, sculptural building. The outer walls consist of a well insulated timber frame, cedar clad construction which weathers naturally over time allowing the building to gradually blend in to its surroundings as a result of local weather patterns. The roof is also constructed using a well insulated timber frame, clad with lapped cedar boards as is commonly found in the traditional buildings of Scandinavia. The continuous timber cladding on all external faces gives the building a clear sculptural identity.

Pause then enter beneath turf canopy, emerge and encounter a panorama at the top of the hill. Turn back on yourself and take shelter for a moment on a bench held by the land and roofed by its fauna.

A contemporary cave, it’s mouth framing the view of Loch Leven and the landscape surrounding.

A woven hollow on the hill’s prow providing time to pause think and observe; still, windless shelter. The calm eye of refuge and outlook in an otherwise exposed landscape.

GRAS were selected to submit proposals for a new lookout and rest stop on the Loch Leven Heritage Trail in Fife. The viewpoint is designed to encourage visitors travelling in either direction to pause to rest, appreciate their surroundings and contemplate their journey. When approached from either direction, it first becomes visible as a dry stone wall edge to the path. As the banks either side of the path rise up, the ground gently falls leading the visitor down into a broch like entrance wide enough for cyclists and pedestrians to pass. Timbers laid across the path heighten the senses and advise cyclists to slow or dismount on approach. As the path descends into an enclosed passage, the distant view is obscured and the eye is drawn to the textures of the stone walls and wall-growing fauna either side and the timber framed earth roof overhead. A 180 degree turn in the passage brings the visitor to a cavernous, sheltered space with a large single aperture cut from the undulating roof to frame the distant view with a ribbon of timber. Here visitors can sit on a long bench beneath a cantilevered roof and admire the panoramic view or interpret their surroundings with the pictograms and text etched into the timber ribbon running the full perimeter of the aperture. The space is large enough to hold a small group but small enough to feel intimate with one or two people. The nature of the two paths meeting in a sheltered space encourages visitors to engage with one another.

The viewpoint is located on a natural slope, which is dug away to form the enclosing space. Drystone retaining walls form the vertical edges while a timber frame supports the wild, grassy landscape which runs over the top of the enclosure. On one side the ground plane rises to form a covered space while on the other side it drops, to reveal the view and bring the small scale flora and fauna to a height where they can be easily viewed alongside the accompanying interpretative information.

The form is principally derived by the fold in the path and the natural fall in the landscape, but is inspired by ancient Scottish forms of construction such as Holms and Brochs and later blackhouses and crofts. Its organic, sinuous form references natural forms of construction such as cocoons and the weaver birds nest to create an organic enclosure, appropriate for peaceful contemplation.

In collaboration with both Castlehume Golf & Leisure and Nick Faldo, GRAS carried out the master planning for International Championship Course Spa Hotel, golf village, waterside apartments on the shores Lough Erne and Castlehume Lough, Enniskillen. Around 88 new holiday homes were built and design cues from the historic estates of Castlehume and Ely Lodge ensure that the village sits comfortably in its setting, benefiting from the balanced hierarchical layout of spaces typical of eighteenth century estate planning. The inaugural ‘Duel on the Lough’ event took place in July 2009 between Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy.

Situated in the village of Tongue, Sutherland, in the shadow of the iconic Ben Hope, Lundies looks over its stone walls and gardens towards the ancient ruins of Caisteal Bharraich and the dramatic Kyle of Tongue. The former 19th-century manse has been meticulously repaired and sensitively adapted to create accommodation in the form of three period-inspired guest suites and an attic-level apartment. The creative team at conservation and hospitality organisation Wildland were deeply involved in all aspects of the project, from defining a clear, ambitious vision to sourcing and commissioning unique pieces of furniture and artworks at completion.

GRAS is leading a design team on behalf of the National Trust for Scotland, to develop an understanding of the Category A-listed Malleny House. Work is now underway to record the historic fabric, condition survey and inform planned fabric repairs to secure the future of the building. A team including AOC Archaeology have recently undertaken a LiDAR survey of the property both internally and externally from which a 3D model and high-resolution scaled orthographic images and elevational drawings will be produced.

The site has been Listed at Category A since 1971. The property is now surrounded by an area of housing, designated as Balerno Conservation Area. There are also the A-listed Doocot and C-listed Scott Burial Vault nearby. The earliest documentary evidence of Malleny estate is from around the 1280s. Malleny House was built around 1637 by the then owner Sir James Murray of Kilbaberton, Master of the King’s Works. Elements of an earlier house may have been incorporated into the fabric, which are thought to include the date stone of 1589, located in the kitchen of the present house . The Georgian Wing to the North was added around the 1820s. The date of the Southern range is assumed to be mid-19th Century. It is hoped the project will reveal more about this detail.

In 2017 GRAS have submitted a planning application for River Craft: a new floating platform that is as an expansion to the Malt & Hops pub on the Shore, Leith, Edinburgh. The proposal was for the installation of a new floating deck (18.5 m x 6.3 m) to the eastern edge of the Water of Leith basin, directly opposite the pub, which can accommodate additional seating, a servery, storage space and an accessible WC. The expansion will also benefit from additional sunlight for a longer period of the day. Its distinct aesthetic will provide enhanced marketing opportunities to help improve the long term sustainability of the establishment while adding to the creative capital of the area.

The servery will specialise in the provision of locally sourced beverages, including craft ales, and in the cooler months will be used as a test brewery. It is hoped that in time the deck will act as a catalyst to develop the production of craft ales, cordials and tonics as part of the Shore Brewery project which is currently being developed locally.

The timber clad deck will be supported on a box iron frame, encasing ballasted floats. Around the perimeter will be fixed a timber-framed balustrade clad in flush-finished translucent acrylic. This will provide some shelter from low level breeze while maintaining views to the surrounding basin and associated wildlife and ecological habitat. The aesthetics of the timber-framed balustrade will continue around the platform to form the servery, store and accessible WC on the north side. The structure will be moored against the dock with fixed arms which are capable of moving up and down with the slight changes in water level.

Although the design is not specifically nautical, the overall form is inspired by local barges and Leith’s history as a port. The finishes throughout have been kept intentionally restrained, using only simple forms and modern architectural detailing. As such the proposal is respectful of the character and architecture of the surrounding area and is designed to be striking but not dominant.

River Craft has been designed locally and will be built by local craftsmen. The aspiration is that it will contribute positively to the community, further enhancing the vibrancy and diversity of the area while developing a local business to meet growing demand.

Moffat is a small town with a population of around 2,500 located in the district of Annandale in the Scottish Borders, around 21 miles north of Dumfries.  The town developed primarily over the late 18th and early 19th centuries as a spa resort, having been largely redeveloped in the late 18th century during which a number of hotels and inns were constructed in the town centre to cater for the growing number of visitors. 

Moffat Conservation Area includes the town centre and extends north eastward to encompass parkland extending down to the Annan Water and westward to cover an area of mainly 19th century residential development.  GRAS were first appointed by the Community Council in late 2018 to prepare a Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Plan, which was then used to support an application to the Scottish Government for funding under the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) programme.  This in turn resulted in a number of subsequent appointments, including development of proposals to refurbish and adapt the category B listed Archbald Moffat House, which dates from the late 18th century.

Competition proposal for the new municipal library building in Česká Lípa, Czechia. The ultimate function of a library is in question. More and more it is a place to connect with each other, transforming itself into a new social platform with knowledge in its centre. The proposal seeks to write a story about the place and its two historical structures co-occupying the site. One of the last fragments of the fortification wall left in the city runs through the site forming the main entry to the new library. The proposed building complements the existing architecture and tries to create a unified whole with it. Both in proportion and scale, and in the morphology used. The design works with rhythmically repeating symmetrical gable roofs and the massive mass of the buildings. Behind this heavy skin opens a new world filled with light from above and carefully framed views back towards the town showing it from new perspectives.

This detached private house has undergone significant alteration over time, including the addition of a series of flat roofed extensions to the North and its division into two apartments before later being reconciled to form a single dwelling. The latter extensions were built to a poor standard and were suffering from extensive water ingress, dampness and dry rot, and as a result.

Reconfiguring the internal layout and extending the body of the main house created better, healthier living spaces. The existing roof void has been converted to form new sleeping accommodation. By improving the arrangement of internal spaces, the house is better connected with its garden and more suited to modern family life.

In 2017 GRAS were granted planning and building warrant approval for a new 4 bedroom dwelling to PassivHaus standards in Gifford, East Lothian. On-site this year, the house will be one of the first buildings in East Lothian to meet the Gold Label standard for sustainability under Scottish Building Standards.

F-shaped in plan, with a long south-facing façade and internal courtyard, the replacement house will be timber clad using sustainable Scotlarch cladding, have a standing seam zinc sheet roof and magnesium coated galvanised rainwater goods. the building fabric will be constructed from closed panel, twin stud timber-frame walls and roof, and with full-fill pumped Cellulose insulation. This will give very good and high thermal mass with excellent heat retention and air-tightness.

The frame is supported on a fully insulated passive floor slab that will minimise any wall or floor cold bridging and will eliminate the need for footings.

Niddry Castle is a scheduled ancient monument and category A  listed building which comprises a large and imposing late 15^th / early 16^th century L-plan tower house. The castle had lain empty and largely ruinous for many years until the late 20^th century when limited repair works were undertaken. GRAS were appointed by new owners in 2006 to survey the building, establish the extent of repair and remedial works required and apply to Historic Environment Scotland for grant finance. This application was successful and generous grant funding was secured from HES.

Following this, consents were obtained and an extensive package of external and internal conservation and repair works was undertaken, including rebuilding the gable walls and parapets, extensive masonry repairs and complete re-roofing. The works were completed in 2010 and the castle is once again fully occupied and its future made secure.

Nisbet Wylie Photographs approached the practice with a brief to provide studio and office space, a meeting room, WC, lounge, kitchen and dressing room within an existing 350m² industrial unit. The existing building is left largely untouched with new facilities contained in two free-standing timber framed beech-ply boxes. They are specifically positioned within the building – dividing it into a series of studio, exhibition and circulation spaces. The units have their own heating, lighting, ventilation and entertainment systems allowing them to be used independently of the main space, minimising energy waste. Where possible, these materials were used in their unaltered state, minimising waste material and construction time, and clearly expressing their industrial origins. Photography by Nisbet Wylie Photographs.

GRAS collaborated  with artist Juli Bolaños-Durman on a commission for the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on temporary loan to the Scottish Parliament. The light boxes were designed to invite all audiences to come up close and indulge in the details of the glass sculptures and its shadows.

The material palette for the cabinets is simple – whitewashed oak veneered timber with brass detailing. The objective was to frame the glass installation and provide protected environment for the fragile pieces that could be observed from different angles, even with wheelchair accessibility in mind. Read more about the project via Juli Bolaños-Durman’s website.

One of three fortified houses rescued from a derelict state by the Groves-Raines family. Peffermill House in Edinburgh, built in 1636 by Edward Edgar and his wife Margret, had suffered years of neglect and subsequent vandalism. In 1981, after meticulous restoration, the family moved in with the architectural practice sharing the ground floor. The grounds were later transformed, creating a series of gardens: a water garden, a flower garden, a vegetable garden and a wild garden. In 1995 the house was sold, now a part of the house is let as holiday accommodation.

Pitsligo Castle is a scheduled ancient monument and a category ‘A’ listed building. It consists of a large roofless courtyard castle dating mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries, set in approximately four acres of grounds within which is a walled garden and woodlands. The castle has been largely ruinous for a great many years now and although some consolidation and stabilisation works were undertaken in the late 1980s much of it remains in a parlous condition. GRAS were first appointed by the Pitsligo Castle Trust in 2004 to prepare a Conservation Plan on both the castle and the nearby Peathill Kirk, with which it has close historical associations.

Following the offer of a generous repairs grant from Historic Scotland, we were appointed by the Trust in 2009 to implement the first phase of a carefully prioritised programme of repair and consolidation works. These works comprised the removal of corroded shoring, scaffolding and heavy vegetation growth, the installation of new support structures, extensive masonry repairs and selective repointing works. Further phases of repairs are planned in the future subject to funding.

GRAS collaboration with S+CO, explored various design solutions for social spaces during pandemic. Featuring range of materials like blackened steel and plywood, as well as brass and oak, the polycarbonate screens were designed and fabricated in Leith, Edinburgh, to be carefully installed across UK.

The site consists of a late 15th century ruinous Tower House and a 17th century Doocot within a walled garden in Prestonpans. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland but has been managed by East Lothian Council since 1972.  Situated in a coastal area of a former mining town, the area has faced deprivation and a lack of investment over the years.

The project is publicly funded and the brief was developed in collaboration between the building owners, the management organisation and the community. The priority was to bring the structures into a good state of repair, improve public access to both buildings, and provide interpretation of the site in order to enhance the experience for current users, increase awareness of its significance and encourage more people to visit.

A light touch approach was important in order to maintain the character of the site and the proposals were distilled to concise architectural moves in order to make sense of the existing gardens and open up and improve the flow of the visitor experience, whilst protecting the future of the built fabric and landscape. Budget constraints and a conservation approach necessitated a very careful prioritising of works, including minimising maintenance.

The first phase of works comprised repairs to the Doocot and boundary walls and new accessible paths, landscaping, and interpretation. The first phase gave time for the upskilling of the contractor, a detailed understanding of the Tower to be formed and a relationship with the community to be developed.

The second phase comprised various methods of consolidation to the Tower, interpretation works and the installation of a new external stair to provide access to the first-floor interior. Detailed survey work including investigative archaeological surveys and specialist photogrammetry have supported increased understanding and interpretation of the site and informed both technical repair responses and new architectural interventions.

The repair work itself has become part of the archaeological interpretation of the site. New sensitively designed galvanised metalwork has been installed to the external openings, treated to provide a subtle lead coloured finish. The tower has been made watertight with a new mastic asphalt finish on the second floor which forms the roof to the main hall.

From examining the stonework, archaeologists identified where wooden beams were, and where later changes had been made to the original structure. A new modern staircase, which echoes some of the possible historic stairs, has been added to allow access to the historic main entrance. It uses materials to reflect what has been used on the tower including a stone platt with treated galvanised metal structure.

Local involvement was maintained throughout the design process, and a breadth of activities was carried out in order to capture as broad an input as possible.  The collective ambition was that the community would take symbolic ownership of the site, run tours and manage the visitor experience. A Friends Group has now been formed in order to take on this task, with ongoing support from all stakeholders.

This project is one chapter in the site’s history where a stabilised, revived and improved beloved heritage asset has been delivered back to its community, ready to be utilised to positively contribute to the common weal of the entire area.  Rather than a comprehensive refurbishment, it is a collection of small precise interventions which together make a large impact.

RB Residence is contemporary building in a rural setting, which embodies a clear departure from the traditional notion of a farmhouse. Inspiration for the building’s form and materiality came from the agricultural vernacular of the adjacent farm buildings and those found throughout the Tweed Valley. The new accommodation is conceived as a reinterpretation of these utilitarian sheds and barns, built from readily available and low-cost materials such as rough-sawn timber, mild steel and profiled metal sheet roofing.

The house’s primary orientation follows a northeast to southwest axis, which is typical of agricultural and industrial buildings along the length of the Tweed Valley. On approach, the property appears as a simple, low-slung pitched roof, built in corrugated sheet metal and supported by a functional steel and glass frame – a ubiquitous form throughout the Borders. Overhanging eaves soften the building’s edge, blurring the threshold from inside to out and heightening engagement with the surrounding landscape. Beneath the eaves and the projecting gable roofs, a continuous terrace extending around the perimeter of the house creates a series of covered spaces of varying scales and outlooks.

Continuous timber walls running the length of the house are broken by sliding screens that can be drawn aside to reveal floor-to-ceiling glazed openings. These glazed screens also slide away so that living spaces can be opened up to the terraces on all elevations. This series of internal, covered and external spaces combined with the layered façade provides adaptability to suit seasonal uses. A rational plan with generous circulation both inside and out provides a series of single- and double-height linked spaces, each with their own character, scale and framed views across the fields to the Cheviot Hills. Glazed gables provide focused views to the farm steading and to the forested areas to the northeast.

GRAS were commissioned by Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust to prepare a conservation statement and feasibility study on the category B-listed Rosefield Mills. Located in a prominent position close to the town centre, this vast C19th former tweed mill has a grand Venetian palazzo style frontage overlooking the banks of the River Nith, but unfortunately has lain empty and disused for many years. Our work is to reflect and build upon previous studies and reports on the building and will explore further options for repair and re-use based primarily on conservation and retention of existing fabric. Initial drafts have now been issued for review and comment which identify the significance of the building, examine the challenges it faces and provide details of a scheme for re-use based on the concept of a ‘festival tent’ – a large open flexible space capable of supporting a range of community, cultural, retail and commercial uses.

Photography by Martin Kerr and Natasha Huq

GRAS were approached to reconfigure and amalgamate two A-listed properties into one at Royal Terrace in Edinburgh. The brief was to create a two story dwelling with 3 public rooms, 4 bedrooms and a large dining/kitchen linked by a new stair. As it was the most significant alteration to the property and pivotal to the success of the project the client was keen to explore the possibility the clients were keen to explore the possibilities of the stair. Positioned at the heart of the house the stair linking the two levels together allows as much light as possible into the lower ground floor level.

Inspired by the work of sculptors Locky Morris and Barbara Hepworth, the proposal endeavoured to abstract the floor surface to form a sculptural, flowing spiral. The conventional spiral stair plan has been twisted so that the leading edge of each tread runs perpendicular to the tangent of the central void, meaning that visually, each tread tapers into the next creating a continuous timber surface when viewed from above. In order to achieve this complex geometry while allowing light to pass through the structure, each tread is supported on a unique cantilevered steel profile tapering in plan and section. While forming a single solid surface when viewed from above, the profile of the treads mean that each step is viewed as an individual element from below: visually reminiscent of turbine blades or a wing profile. The light flows between the steps and creates different qualities of light and form when viewed from any point in the space. A central glazed balustrade is supported from the end of each cantilevered tread, while a recessed handrail runs around the perimeter wall.

Glenfeshie Bothy was renovated and extended to provide an access stair to the attic space increasing its capacity for the walkers who use it. The roof was replaced, fully insulated and lined internally with douglas fir boards. A new extension was built in stone using traditional techniques to house the new internal access stair which was also constructed in douglas fir. This extension also houses storage areas for the bothy. The two rooms on the ground floor have new flooring throughout and new stoves installed as the chimney was rebuilt. New doors and windows were installed throughout. The toilet was also fully refurbished to provide two toilets as opposed to one. 

Despite having only limited facilities at present, the Scatness archaeological site has proven to be a popular visitor attraction, with over 8000 people visiting the site each year. The need to consolidate and protect the site has become increasingly recognised as has the need to provide permanent interpretive and other facilities for the growing number of visitors.

This proposal creates a unique heritage site and first-class visitor attraction in which the archaeology is fully enclosed and protected and where visitors can view history being unearthed and discovered.

GRAS created the central stand for the inaugural Scotland: Craft & Design pavilion, which celebrated the best in Scottish contemporary craft at London Design Fair 2016. Working to a brief set by our clients, Craft Scotland and community interest group Emergents, we produced a monolithic display element that showcased the work of 22 emerging and established designers and makers from across Scotland. The custom-made stand immediately attracted the attention of visitors to the exhibition, with its physical mass and integrated lighting drawing people towards the centre of the space and encouraging them to explore the various works on show.

GRAS were invited to design the SIX awards and exhibition which features the best work from the future stars of Scottish architecture. It showcases young talent and offers a rare opportunity to see work from all six of Scotland’s schools of architecture together. The SIX 07 exhibition aims to give a sense of importance and permanence to the student work through the use of digital media and by referencing to protective archiving systems. Where traditionally student work is presented on gallery walls, each school’s work is presented centrally within six polished storage units. Images of the work are projected in an interactive format on top of the units with hard ‘archived’ copies of the work stored in six sliding drawers.

The pieces are intended to be highly interactive and their positioning in the centre of the gallery encourages interaction and discussion between audience members. Each box can be dismantled into a series of components suitable for transport to the six schools of architecture throughout Scotland. The exhibition was commended in the Best Exhibition category at the Scottish Design Awards in 2008.
Photography by Andri Haflidason.

GRAS worked with the owners of Springkell to sensitively upgrade and convert the category A listed house to form a unique wedding venue with guest accommodation, providing the building with a sustainable use and income. The project included a discreet package of works to tackle a dry rot outbreak that threatened the survival of the structure, without damaging the beautiful plasterwork ceilings and panelling. Further phases of work to bring the currently-unused service wing and basement of the house of the house back into use are planned. These will start as funding allows.

Photography by Duncan Ireland

St Andrew’s Church in the East end of Glasgow is of immense architectural significance, having been designed in 1739 by the architect Allan Dreghorn and built by the master mason Mungo Naismith. It is considered one of the best classical revival churches in Britain and is A-listed. Glasgow Building Preservation Trust’s main aim was to restore the church to its former glory but in order to make it sustainable, additional facilities were needed. As the church sits on an island site at the centre of St. Andrews Square, no additional structure could be added. Thus the bold decision was taken to excavate under the existing building to achieve the space required.

The Church was opened to the public on St Andrew’s Day, 30th of November 2000, as a centre for traditional Scottish music, song and dance. St Andrew’s Church was awarded the Dynamic Place Award in 2001, Europa Nostra Diploma in 2001, Glasgow Institute of Architects President’s Choice Design Award in 2001, Civic Trust Award in 2002. and RICS award in 2003.

Arguably the finest ecclesiastical building in Shetland, the category B listed St Magnus Church was designed by Alexander Ellis of Aberdeen and dates from 1863-64, with the addition of the bell tower undertaken in 1899 by the Inverness architect Alexander Ross. The Church is broadly in the early pointed gothic style, with detailing that shows the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement, particularly through the treatment of the tower. Internally, the building displays many fine features, including an open timber roof with scissor trusses over the nave and a magnificent collection of stained glass by the famous architect and designer, Sir Ninian Comper.

After successfully applying for and securing substantial grant funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland, GRAS were appointed to put in place and see through to completion a comprehensive package of internal and external fabric repairs, including major structural works to the tower, complete re-roofing and extensive remedial works to stone masonry, stained glass and internal finishes.

Completed in 2010, Station Road house was the first to achieve a Category 6 (excellent) environmental rating in Ireland and is close to passive standard. The house is of a traditional “Tuscan” style to suit this important conservation area to be in scale with the neighbouring nineteenth century style villas.