Creating Edinburgh's Next Neighbourhood
Elements Edinburgh, West Edinburgh, reimagines a former brownfield site as a diverse 20-minute neighbourhood where people can live, work, learn and connect.
This transformational masterplan for West Edinburgh, reimagining a disused brownfield site as a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood built around the principles of a sustainable 20-minute community. Bringing together around 3,000 homes, 50,000 sqm of workplace accommodation, retail and leisure uses, community facilities, hotels and a new primary school, the vision creates a place where people can live, work, learn and socialise within a highly connected environment. More than a residential development, the masterplan seeks to establish a diverse new destination for Edinburgh that supports long-term growth while fostering a strong sense of place and community identity.
At the heart of the masterplan is a landscape-led design strategy that organises homes, workplaces and community facilities around a connected network of parks, civic spaces and green corridors. The preservation of the setting of neighbouring Gogar Castle has enabled the creation of a significant new public park, while rain gardens, pocket parks and ecological corridors are woven throughout the development to support biodiversity, sustainable drainage and everyday wellbeing. Together, these spaces provide the framework for a neighbourhood where landscape is not simply an amenity, but a defining part of the community's character and environmental resilience.
The mixed-use nature of the masterplan is fundamental to its success. A neighbourhood centre, community wellbeing hub, primary school, workplaces, hotels, retail and leisure uses are distributed throughout the development to create activity throughout the day and reduce reliance on longer journeys. This approach supports the ambitions of a genuine 20-minute neighbourhood, where daily needs are accessible by foot, cycle or public transport and where community life is centred around a series of connected public spaces.
Featured Projects
Sectors
