Dunard Centre

overview

A new performance centre coming to the heart of Edinburgh will be home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Located at the eastern end of Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Dunard Centre backs up to the Grade-A listed Dundas House on St. Andrew Square. The new building’s design features a contemporary facade that integrates into the historic area with a tripartite composition along with thoughtfully articulated materials and textures. The façade comprises architectural precast concrete, which references the sandstone found throughout New Town.

We are providing building skin design as well as daylight modeling services to David Chipperfield Architects for the project. The modern music venue will house an 850-seat auditorium, multipurpose rooms, and a cafe.

highlights

• Thornton Tomasetti is advising on the materials of the façades to meet the performance design criteria regarding durability, air/water management, thermal insulation, cladding and wind loads, imposed loads, differential movements, and acoustic and fire standards.
• We are also coordinating façade energy modelling with the MEP engineer, developing the façade design to meet project energy targets as well as providing exterior daylight analysis which was crucial in obtaining planning permission for the client.