AN AWARD-WINNING architect has defended his designs for a controversial 17-storey hotel in Haymarket, saying it would be a significant building which would become famous worldwide.
At the start of a public inquiry into the proposed £200 million development on the former Morrison Street goods yard, which got under way yesterday, Richard Murphy said he hoped the hotel would act as an iconic gateway into Edinburgh's world heritag
e site.
And he compared the designs, and the reaction of the public to them, as similar to the Balmoral and Caledonian Hotels, both of which attracted significant criticism when they were built, but which are now world famous and Grade A-listed.
The proposals have come under scrutiny because of the height of the building, which would make it an unmissable addition to Edinburgh's historic skyline.
The plans had originally been for a 12-storey hotel, and Mr Murphy, whose Edinburgh practice has drawn up the designs for the controversial hotel, said the changes had happened for a variety of reasons, and insisted the designs were better now.
He said: "I believe the building works far better now that it is taller."
Asked about the 17 floors of the hotel, Mr Murphy said there were actually 19, with two floors underground, then three public floors including the foyer, cafe and dining area.
John Campbell QC, representing heritage watchdogs the Cockburn Association, asked why Mr Murphy believed the height of this hotel was acceptable, given the effect it would have on the city's historic skyline.
"Height is a hot topic in Edinburgh," the architect replied. "Usually there is a requirement to fit within the skyline, but very occasionally the opportunity comes along to develop a very significant building which you want to break through. It has a charge that it should break through the horizon.
"This is a very important site. It is the entrance to the World Heritage site, and this building can act as a marker to that."
Mr Murphy also insisted that, while modern, the building would become "historic", and said heritage groups had to realise there was a need to create bold new buildings which would stand the test of time.
"Historic Scotland have no sense of history, as all of the buildings they now support and preserve would never have been given their approval at the planning stage," he said. "That is the conundrum we face."
Mr Campbell also asked the architect if he thought the Balmoral – originally known as the North British Hotel – was a good piece of architecture, to which Mr Murphy replied: "Not really, no. But I'm sure the people of Edinburgh are nostalgic about it. If you tried to knock it down there would be an uproar, no doubt similar to the uproar there was when they originally tried to build it."
The inquiry, before Scottish Government reporter Dannie Onn, is due to hear evidence until 5 June.
