Edinburgh Airport Premier Inn was opened last month. Designed by Lawrence McPherson Associates, the 119 bed hotel is situated at Newbridge near Edinburgh Airport in a prime location on the newly developed Axis Business Park directly adjacent to the A90. The opening of the Airport Premier Inn follows close on the heels of the completion of the 60 bed Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre at Dumbarton.Edinburgh Airport Premier Inn is part of the ‘Solus’ range of Whitbread hotels whereby bespoke designs are developed for each individual site in key locations such as city centres and those adjacent to airports. It is a departure from the traditional aesthetic of the standard Premier Inn brand.
The building has a modern aesthetic and features an asymmetric bedroom window configuration, large full height windows to the restaurant and communal areas and an inverted ‘gull wing’ roof.
The introduction of natural light into the building was a particular aim of the designers. The restaurant features two large roof lights which allow light to penetrate deep to the bar area giving this a light and airy feel. Allowing natural daylight to penetrate deep into the building plan reduces the need to use artificial lighting during the day thus reducing the energy consumption.
The materials used in the construction continue the contemporary feel. The gull wing roof is finished with a Trocal single ply roof membrane, the high level frieze is finished in Kingspan microrib panels and the external leaf is finished in a facing brick and Sto acrylic render finish. The hotel is constructed with timber frame built off a precast concrete and steel plinth and finished with a masonry outer leaf.
The building sits directly under the flight path of Edinburgh airport and dealing with the resulting sound issues was a major challenge. To achieve the required sound insulation each window is a fixed double glazed sound reducing unit with the larger windows having secondary glazing to achieve the required sound reduction.
In order to achieve Whitbread’s commitment to carbon reduction, the Edinburgh Airport Premier Inn has individually controlled air conditioning units fitted in every room replacing the standard electrical panel heaters. The fresh air supply to each bedroom air conditioning unit is via a vertical passive vent system.
The Premier Inn, constructed by Ogilvie Construction, features the first ‘Thyme’ restaurant in Scotland.
