![Exterior of Simon Square apartments by Fraser/Livingstone](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_hero-852x479.jpg)
Fraser/Livingstone adds angular tenement to historical Edinburgh site
Scottish studio Fraser/Livingstone has completed a mass-timber tenement-style housing development in Edinburgh named Simon Square.
Comprising six flats, the housing block replaces an old builder's yard on a site closely bordered by 19th-century stone tenements, in Edinburgh's Southside.
![Aerial view of Simon Square apartments by Fraser/Livingstone](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x493.jpg)
It was designed by Fraser/Livingstone as a contemporary addition to the historic site and marks Scotland's first developer-led mass-timber residential development.
"Our chamfered form with big picture windows and lime-plastered masonry sits contemporary in the street and the south side of Edinburgh," project architect Ayla Riom told Dezeen.
![Exterior of Simon Square apartments by Fraser/Livingstone](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x1065.jpg)
To retain the privacy of the surrounding houses following the removal of the sites boundary wall, the studio created an angular form.
"Close proximity to the neighbours demanded a solution to avoid overlooking while also creating views and letting light in," explained Riome.
"The resultant chamfered edges and saw-toothed rooms not only provide good outlooks but define centred, flexible rooms."
![Street view of Simon Square in Edinburgh](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x1136.jpg)
The housing block's structure was made from cross-laminated timber, which has been left exposed internally.
A brick shell wraps around this structure finished with a lime coating that hides the masonry and helps the building mimic its surroundings.
![Apartment with exposed timber walls](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_col_12-852x682.jpg)
The building's position towards the north of the site creates space for a shared entrance court to the south. Inside, the tenement-style development comprises a total of six flats, with the two lower floors each featuring two one-bedroom apartments.
An additional one-bedroom apartment was located on the next floor, along with the lower level of a two-bedroom duplex, which extends to another storey and features a rooftop terrace.
All the rooms feature exposed timber walls, which the studio hopes will positively impact the well-being of the building's residents.
"When solid timber is exposed internally, the D-limonene the timber gives out has been shown to produce calm environments, with occupants' hearts beating slower, and stress reduced," said Riome.
"Solid timber also locks-up carbon, in a big, solid way."
![Living room of Simon Square apartments by Fraser/Livingstone](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_col_11-852x1065.jpg)
According to the studio, the development of Simon Square marks the first time heavy timber has been used in Scottish developer-led housing.
"We hope that Simon Square can act as an exemplar project in the drive to instigate a Scottish solid timber industry," said Riome.
![Bedroom with exposed timber walls](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2023/02/simon-square-fraser-livingstone-architecture-housing-residential-edinburgh-scotland_dezeen_2364_col_13-852x682.jpg)
"Together with heavy timber construction, we hope we are pointing the way to a new, urban, local vernacular, with wellbeing and climate to the fore," Riome added.
Other structural-timber projects recently featured on Dezeen include a mass-timber office in London by Waugh Thistleton Architects and a cloister-informed home extension in Islington.
The photography is by Fredrik Frendin.