Page \ Park

Edinburgh Printmakers

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

EDINBURGH PRINTMAKERS

Page / Park Architects

CLIENTS
Edinburgh Printmakers

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Suzy O’ Leary

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Gardiner and Theobald

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS
Will Rudd Davidson

FIRE ENGINEERS
Atelier 10

COST CONSULTANTS
Doig and Smith

PRINCIPAL DESIGNER 
Doig and Smith

PAGE/PARK TEAM
Suzy O’ Leary, Eilidh Henderson, Nicola Walls, David Page

LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR
Advance Construction Scotland

MAIN CONTRACTOR
Interserve Construction

MANUFACTURERS
Hay, Dcp Cemflow Topping, Flos, Flowcrete, Johanson, Phos Design, Ted Todd

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jim Stephenson

AREA
2650.0 m2

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

CATEGORY
Mixed Use Architecture, Gallery, Renovation

Text description provided by architect.

The Edinburgh Printmakers new creative hub is located within what once was the headquarters of the North British Rubber Company (NBRC).

Our project involved the redevelopment of this derelict building into a multi-use arts complex centred around printmaking production.

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

Central to the architectural concept was to make precise interventions to facilitate new use while respecting the character and story of the existing building.

The NBRC building is the only surviving structure from the once large and important nineteenth century Castle Mills industrial complex.

At its height, NBRC employed over three thousand people and produced a vast array of rubber products on site, including the famous Hunter welly boot.

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

During the First World War, 1,185,036 pairs of rubber boots were made for the army with the mills running 24 hours a day to keep up with demand.

The Printmakers’ brief included provision of two galleries, shop, café, education space, staff offices, environmentally controlled archives, eight creative industries units and a large print studio.

New architectural elements are light of touch and stem from an understanding of the heritage.

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

The bold new entrance onto Dundee Street provides a public face for Edinburgh Printmakers offering views from the street directly in to the galleries, reception and shop.

The new extension to the rear subtly shifts the centre of gravity of the building to create a central courtyard around which all building users can meet and interact

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

The courtyard also addresses the broader redevelopment of the surrounding site and becomes one of a series of public spaces creating pedestrian routes from the canal to Dundee Street.

The print studio sits at first floor level in the expansive triple height former joinery workshop. Fabric repair works were carried out as necessary, but the patina of one hundred and fifty years of occupation was maintained.

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

Historic joist pockets within the raw brick walls are retained, the original muscular cast iron structure and timber trusses are left exposed, and marks of previous interior paint colours are left untouched.

Our approach was not to white wash away the many stories of this space, but instead allow a new layer of occupation to add to the ongoing narrative of this place. Where original fabric was no longer required it was repurposed. Old glazed bricks found behind layers of plaster in the basement were re-used to make the servery counter.

Large timber doors were re-imagined as tables in the café. Bespoke shop fittings were crafted using plywood, steel and rubber in a nod to the industrial heritageIn collaboration with visual artist Calum Colvin, Page \ Park designed one of the permanent artwork commissions in the building.

Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson

The EPscope is a fantastic synthesis of periscope and kaleidoscope providing a view from the public café into the print studio above overlaid with images of products made by the rubber company. These objects refract and collide to create an infinity of patterns that are at once obtuse and accurate, like a memory.


Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson
Edinburgh Printmakers
© Jim Stephenson


Edinburgh Printmakers
Upper Ground Floor Plan 
Edinburgh Printmakers
Lower Ground Floor Plan 
Edinburgh Printmakers
Lower Ground Floor Plan 


Edinburgh Printmakers
Section A

Page \ Park
T +44 141 5535440
Page \ Park
20 James Morrison St, Glasgow G1 5PE, United Kingdom