THE first project by Malcolm Fraser and Robin Livingstone since the architects reformed earlier this year has been unveiled as a restaurant overlooking the Water of Leith in Edinburgh.

The Toll House restaurant will occupy the site of a former public toilet which was originally an old toll point on the way into the Scottish capital at Brandon Terrace.

Mr Fraser says his first was connection to the area goes back to when he was a schoolboy in the 1970s, doing voluntary work building and repairing early sections of the walkway at Stockbridge.

His former practice, Malcolm Fraser Architects, converted the one-time bank upstream from the new project, for which plans have now been lodged.

READ MORE: Malcolm Fraser is back with a folio of plans for better buildings in Scotland

The practice led the team which completed the remaining sections of the river’s walkway, linking the Pentlands to Leith, and converted the old Slateford school into a Water of Leith Visitor Centre and cafe.

The Herald:

Above: The Toll House, and the former bank upstream

Mr Fraser said: “Fraser/Livingstone Architects therefore well understand the importance and potential of the river for the people of Edinburgh, and its infrastructure role and attendant possibilities for enhancement.

“Just as the Stockbridge Pizza Express offers sustenance and casts a warm glow over the walkway at that bridge, so the opportunity at Canonmills is taken to act as way-marker along the walkway, and open-up to the river and its walkers.”

Malcolm Fraser Architects, where the pair first worked together, was before its closure a driving force behind the design of a series of high-profile cultural buildings in Scotland, including DanceBase, the Scottish Poetry Library, and the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh and Scottish Ballet in Glasgow.

The Herald:

The former City of Edinburgh Council owned public conveniences sit on the approximate footprint of where the old toll houses once stood on the approach into Edinburgh.

A new projecting terrace is proposed, reached from the ground floor restaurant level, to create a small outdoor eating offer with views west along the water, as well as to the arches of the adjacent Canonmills bridge.

READ MORE: Edinburgh architects rejoin to form new practice four years after liquidation

The design statement says: “With the existing building being in such close proximity to the retaining wall bounding onto the Water of Leith, to create an economically viable solution it was necessary to design the new first floor extension as a light weight structure.

“This minimises any additional loadings onto the retained brick walls, concrete ground slab and foundations below.

“A timber structure is therefore proposed, cloaked in a breathable construction and clad in light weight black standing seam metal.

“The asymmetric pyramidal structure is topped with a rooflight to flood light over the new internal stair and to capture the sky and the tops of the river’s trees.”

The Herald:

It adds: “This angled roof form also provides a practical purpose, with new flue from the first floor servery kitchen running up the more concealed south western gable onto the bank of mature trees, therefore minimising their impact on the more primary street facades. 

“The retained low level brick walls are painted white to lift the presence on the street and to act as a counterpoint to the new black clad pavilion hovering above.

“A warm, timber interior is proposed to animate the street scene, creating an inviting environment when viewed through the expansive openings.”