Unlocking Development Potential Where Context Matters Most: Market Street Hotel

This month, we're showcasing Market Street Hotel, a project that demonstrates our approach to designing within some of the UK's most historically significant urban environments. Located within Edinburgh's UNESCO World Heritage Site, the project involved the transformation of a sensitive city-centre site adjacent to the historic Market Street and Waverley Station, creating Scotland's first Design Hotel™ - a contemporary hotel that responds to the character, scale and materiality of Edinburgh's Old Town.

Highlighted by architect Eric Reinholdt of 30X40 Design Workshop as a "masterclass in contextual design" and an example of "building with history rather than against it", the project reflects a design philosophy that has long underpinned our work. As Reinholdt observes, "context is a design material" - a sentiment that resonates strongly with our own approach to architecture.

For jmarchitects, projects within heritage settings represent far more than the delivery of new buildings. They are opportunities to create architecture that respects, enhances and contributes to places of exceptional cultural and historic value.

Before design proposals are developed, we invest time in understanding how a place has evolved -its history, urban grain, landscape, significant views, and the industries and communities that have shaped its identity. We believe the most successful projects begin by understanding the language of a place before reinterpreting these qualities through contemporary design. This understanding informs every architectural decision, from the relationship with the surrounding streetscape to the choice of materials and the detailing of individual elements.

At Market Street Hotel, the challenge was to create a contemporary addition within one of Edinburgh's most sensitive locations. Rather than replicating the historic fabric, the design draws upon the city's architectural language - its sandstone character, vertical proportions, roofscape and urban grain - to create a building that feels rooted in its setting while expressing its own contemporary identity. The result is architecture that complements the World Heritage skyline without competing with it.

The project also reflects the layered history of the site, where Edinburgh's historic urban fabric meets its long-standing relationship with movement, trade and industry. Located beside one of the city's most important transport connections, the building contributes to the continued evolution of this part of the city, reinforcing the importance of contemporary architecture within historic environments. As Reinholdt reflects, "a good hotel will give you a place to sleep. A great one will change how you see a place." We are delighted that Market Street Hotel continues to be recognised as a project that demonstrates how thoughtful contemporary architecture can enhance and strengthen the character of one of the world's great historic cities.

This philosophy underpins our wider portfolio of conservation and heritage work. Working within World Heritage Sites, conservation areas and historic industrial settings is about more than protecting individual buildings - it is about understanding the wider story of a place and ensuring each intervention contributes positively to its future.

At jmarchitects, we believe the most successful heritage projects are those where contemporary architecture feels entirely at home within its surroundings - not because it imitates the past, but because it responds thoughtfully to it. By placing context at the heart of the design process, we create architecture that respects heritage while helping shape the next chapter of Scotland's built environment. After all, context is not simply a constraint - it is one of architecture's richest design materials.

For more information on this project: Market Street Hotel - jmarchitects

Photography / Imagery Credit: David Cadzow / Robert Rieger

Credit: Paul Smith, jmarchitects