Tower as School
Adaptive reuse / Edinburgh
Reimagining the Summerhall Tower as an extension of ESALA: retaining its existing structural frame while inserting a lighter system of learning, making and public space.
The project begins with the tower as found — its concrete frame, enclosed circulation and accumulated material fabric becoming the basis for intervention rather than something to erase.
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Programme is organised around the retained frame, with the ground floor opened toward the surrounding public realm. A colonnade links the art shop, café and gallery, turning the base of the tower into a public threshold to the school.
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New insertions are deliberately lighter than the retained structure. The school is imagined through open studios, shared workspaces and moments of visual connection across the existing frame.
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Physical models test enclosure, stairs, thresholds and the relationship between new elements and the retained shell.
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