Justice Mill Lane Park Inn Hotel and Office Development, Aberdeen

Our design team was selected following a limited design competition held by Hazledene Estates Ltd. Our original proposal envisaged courtyards of housing behind a perimeter block of offices and hotel. establishing a new piece of the city rather than just a closed commercial development.

In the course of the design the residential element was omitted and both the hotel and office became larger. The project therefore now has taken on the form of two buildings sitting next to each other with the hotel taking the more prominent corner site. The large amount of accommodation to be fitted on the site (the product of a previous planning consent) led to a set back on the elevations to both Justice Mill Lane and Hardgate. A prominent projecting eaves unites both office and hotel even thought there are different number of floors below it. The hotel elevation clearly expresses the cellular nature of the building with a series of overlapping rendered panels. The office elevation is fully glazed.

The hotel contains 185 bedrooms plus all associated public and service facilities. A courtyard garden organises the ground floor plan with the bedrooms placed in an L-shape above. The top two floors are reserved for more expensive rooms and have extensive views.

The total office floor area (gross) is about 13,700m2 and is organised around an atrium. The floor plate gradually diminishes from both the north and south elevations and there are extensive roof terraces. The gross to net ratio of the office is 83% And the office floor plate is capable of subdivision into 16 different tenancies over the six floors. , Within the atrium a spiral staircase connects the first three floors. The environmental strategy is an under-floor displacement ventilation system.

The hotel building has been leased by the Rezidor group and opened its doors to the public on the 23rd August 2010. The office building is expecting its first tenant in the first quarter of 2011.