Eden Locke Hotel, Grzywinski + Pons

Eden Locke is a 72 room hotel in the UNESCO listed Edinburgh New Town comprised of two buildings, an 18th Century Georgian mansion and a 20th Century extension. Grzywinski + Pons stripped the buildings to their bare bones, completing a full gut renovation and comprehensive fit out of the hybridised structure.

Taking the visual warmth of Scottish natural light as their cue, the designers adopted an approach that 'leaned towards the sophisticatedly tropical'. This, combined with a reverence for the existing heritage of the building has resulted in a decidedly unique interior that celebrates Scotland's rich architectural past but not dictated by it.

In addition to the 72 rooms, the Hotel also contains a cafe and bar area where lush vegetation is nestled amongst custom-designed furniture and joinery. Grzywinski + Pons note that "Our intention was that the tension between the severe and stony building fabric and the verdant interior would foster measured incongruity where one exalts the other." Throughout the building Grzywinski + Pons utilised the warm earthy tones of terracotta, wicker, and bent-wood contrasted with brass, stone and cementitious cladding. 'warm materials and textures, powdery tones and soft lighting that make the most of the inimitably breathtaking natural light in Scotland.' 

In addition to their custom pieces, the designers wanted to use existing furniture and lighting to create their desired aesthetic. Viaduct worked with the team to acquire, deliver and install the pieces that met their brief. Items selected for the final project included Stefan Diez's This Chair for e15, Zanotta's Teti Low Stool, The Liba Chair by Borek Sipek, Ilmari Tapiovaara's Domus Chair by Artek, with accents provided by colourful Gan ottomans.

Designed by Grzywinski + Pons

Photography by Nicholas Worley

The layout makes the most of the natural lighting provided by the original Georgian windows to illuminate the 'sophisticatedly tropical' interior.

A selection of bentwood, wicker and cane furniture sits amongst lush greenery that reinforces the sense of contrast with the building's more austere exterior.

Tropical statement pieces such as Boris Sipek's Liba Chair are juxtaposed with nordic classics such as the Ilmaari Tapiovaara designed Domus Chair in white, creating dense layers of hues, textures and influences that feed into a holistic, harmonious whole.

The textures of the materials palette are amplified by the soft natural light, as seen here on the cementitious cladding.

The recurrent motifs of muted pastels tones, brass, terracotta are echoed throughout the building, creating a sense of unity within the design. The walls in the bedrooms are painted both grey and soft pink, another nod to the merging of two eras of architecture that exist within the hotel.

The seating and sleeping elements of the rooms are set back from the windows to maximise privacy, whereas the more social elements are laid out to maximise the sense of lightness and airiness provided by the natural lighting.