British Home Stores, 64 Princes Street, Edinburgh, Edinburgh

Description

Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners, 1964-1968 (Kenneth Graham, partner-in-charge; A D Gracie, architect; Ove Arup, consultant engineers); Extended by RMJM, 1971/2 (Ian M T Samuel). 4-storey and basement, rectangular plan, Modernist purpose-built retail store premises. 2nd floor enclosed walkway over Rose Street South Lane connecting 1971 extension facing Rose Street. Service entrances to Rose Street Lane South. Smooth York stone; copper cladding; anodised aluminium framing.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: York stone facing to full-height blank stair towers flanking central section: extensive glazing to ground floor entrance deeply recessed beneath projecting blue-black Bon Accord polished granite fascia, with incised 'BRITISH HOME STORES' lettering; fascia forming 1st floor 'Panel Building' walkway with extensive glazing; 2nd and 3rd floors expressed by projecting white polished Creetown granite faced box in anodised aluminium curtain walling, with vertical panels punctuated with vertical windows at regular intervals; 4th floor recessed above with extensive copper cladding and horizontal glazing. Extensive square-plan copper clad roof sloping inward to central square roof-top terraced garden; continuous timber-framed glazing facing into to terrace; clerestory windows facing exterior. 2-storey, rectangular plan block to rear.

INTERIOR: open plan floor plates supported by 6 large circular shuttered concrete pillars towards middle plan; main circulation to centre of N end of plan, escalators flanking wide stairs to basement, tubular steel handrails, and glazed panelled balusters, original terrazzo treads covered by later marble tiling. Return flight of stairs leading to 1st floor removed (see Notes). Moulded concrete ceiling in honeycomb pattern to 2nd floor stock rooms. Extensive tiling to floors and walls to 3rd floor (former food preparation and storage areas). Deep timber-clad beams and ceiling expressing inward sloping pitched roof construction; open-plan common room with original floor and wall coverings and some original light fittings to E of plan; meeting rooms and offices to N and W of plan, all in Scandinavian style. Plywood panelled and narrow gauge metal handrail circulation stairs to SW of plan.

Statement of Interest

This purpose-built store for the multiples retailer British Homes Stores was designed as the first flagship store of the chain in Scotland and presents bespoke 1960s modern design for the latest development in retailing. Much thought has been given to the integration of the entire plan (including the rooftop) and interiors and the sensitivity of the materials of exterior as the building was meant to be viewed not only as integral component of the existing streetscape but also from many vantage points in the city centre, including Edinburgh Castle.

The site was considered strategically important in the 1960s and planning controls enforced by the local authority also contributed to the 1st floor walkway formula that was planned but not executed for the entire unification of the street façade. The principal design concept was to provide sales space uninterrupted by the minimum number of columns and the integration where possible of structure and services. A key feature of the architects' design for the store was the insertion of the main circulation stair and escalators at the centre of the plan which previously in such premises would have been located at the periphery and is still an unusual arrangement in shops where floor retail floor space is at a premium. Although it is known that BHS did not favour this arrangement it was allowed at the architects' insistence and not only provided a design statement, it also provided the customer with a full view of the store during circulation. The original stair to the 1st floor was removed early on as it was thought to block through views from the entrance to the rear.

During the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s a number of multiples built stores to individual specification and some took the opportunity to develop sites in a singular style. Standard planning restraints applied by the City of Edinburgh did not prevent RMJM and Partners from providing BHS with a high specification store for a highly important retailing site. After the mid-70s, retailers opted for shell buildings and architecture became a less important part of their marketing. The BHS store in Princes Street is an unusually excellent example of chain store architecture, using high quality materials and careful layout, produced during a decade in which less inspiring designs are the norm throughout the United Kingdom.

The building was designed by the pre-eminent architectural practice of Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners who were a prolific and internationally recognised by 1966 having undertaken important commissions for example, for universities in Scotland, England and Ireland, hospitals and power stations. RMJM also designed BHS's premises in Aberdeen a few years later.

The Edinburgh store is one of the first of the proposed 'panel buildings' planned as part of the comprehensive redevelopment of Princes Street, originating in the Abercrombie plan of 1949. No detailed plans for the redevelopment of the shopping thoroughfare existed in 1966 and the design of the BHS store could therefore be considered the forerunner of subsequent post-war insertions into the long stretch of shops, offices and hotels. (7 buildings were constructed as part of the Princes Street Panel, only 1 other is listed - the Edinburgh New Club by Alan Reiach, Eric Hall and Partners, 1966). Along with its attention to detail and the additional design of the roofscape, the BHS building is one of the best examples of the panel formula.

The original timber panelling and horizontal lighting scheme were removed from the shop floors in the early 2000s.

List description updated 2012.

External Links

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