Waverley Gate is an interior reinvention of the historically important General Post Office Building in Edinburgh. Built in 1861 and protected by its Category A listing, the building was significantly altered in 2002 when the interior was demolished and replaced with open-plan office space, only retaining the High Renaissance style facade. 

This project re-imagines a set of poorly functioning, unloved and underutilised common spaces on the ground floor, atrium and basement. 

The design brings back the busy atmosphere of the old post office halls into the atrium and entrance of the building. The use of kiosks and niches, together with coffered ceilings and patterned floors in these historic spaces is reinterpreted in a contemporary way. 

The entrance is the only point in the interior of the building where the listed historic facade can be seen from the inside. The new design makes the most of this by framing the historic stone portico with a new timber element, improving the relationship between the outer historic facade and the interior of the building. By removing layers of physical barriers in the entrance there is a stronger visual connection through to the re-celebrated existing atrium, simplifying and opening-up the arrival experience, inviting visitors to go into the building. 

The palette of materials and their design took references from historical information researched on the old General Post Office, including a bespoke postage stamp-based tile pattern for the atrium flooring and a reinterpretation of a coffered ceiling and wall paneling in the entrance hall. 

The redesign creates a set of clearly defined spaces within a coherent whole for users to rest, meet and socialise.

Location
Edinburgh, UK
Client
Kennedy Wilson