London-based architecture studio Dixon Jones has unveiled design for a new multi-purpose building which will serve as a gateway for the 43-acre (174,000-square-metre) Edinburgh Park development masterplanned by Dixon Jones. 

Dubbed as March 1, Jones have submitted plans to the City Council to move forward on a landmark installation for Edinburgh Park. The building, resembling a collapsed Jenga set, will be developed with Turner Prize-shortlisted artist and sculptor David Mach. 

Commissioned by developer Parabola, March 1 will be David Mach’s first building and will act as the marketing suite for the Edinburgh Park neighbourhood. The building will also serve as an arts, events and conference venue and includes a large double height gallery space to exhibit a full site model, detailed building models, illustrations, audio-visual displays and informational displays about the southern phase of construction of Edinburgh Park itself.

Image © Assembly Studios

"Mach 1 will be an eye-catching and engaging piece of art, as well as a functional building from which we can communicate our vision. It will be a meeting place in which to engage with prospective tenants, residents, interested neighbours and visitors from further afield," said Parabola chairman Peter Millican.

"It will also be a place that can welcome more diverse arts and cultural events on occasion, offering a striking venue to be used by the wider Edinburgh Community."

Mach 1 will be made from over 30 shipping containers that overlap each other irregularly and it aims to catch the visitors attention while entering the site. The new building will also be supporting two residencies for emerging writers and photographers, as well as offering outreach opportunities with local schools. 

Dixon Jones were appointed in 2014 to review the masterplan of the undeveloped 43 acres. The site has been assessed from first principles, with feasibility work examining commercial, mixed use, arts and residential opportunities. 

Masterplan for Parabola at Edinburgh Park was approved by Edinburgh Council in September 2018. The detailed application included seven office buildings amounting to over one million square feet of grade A commercial space, leisure and sports facilities, a new public square, shops, bars, restaurants, a health centre, two multi-story car parks, an energy centre and high quality public realm and landscaping. 

It will be the city’s largest development for more than a decade and includes the first new crossing built across the tram line since the network was opened in 2014.

David Mach is one of the UK's most successful and respected artists, known for his dynamic and imaginative large scale collages, sculptures and installations using diverse media. Regarding the project, Mach said: "there is quite a dramatic shape to the building, not a regular piece of architecture. 

"It will be something that you really notice. It is a building that really makes a statement about itself," Mach added.

Site plan

Plan

Elevation

Work is expected to start for the latest phase of Edinburgh Park in the coming weeks. 

Top image © Assembly Studios

All drawings © Dixon Jones

> via Dixon Jones