Jewel & Esk College Plan
Design of a College campus in Portobello, Edinburgh.

Jewel & Esk College in Edinburgh asked for the Master in Landscape Architecture students at the Edinburgh College of Art to help come up with design for the college campus. The Jewel & Esk College specialises in programs that relate to cuisine, fashion and hairstyling, film and theatre as well as music. The college is located within a residential area thus lacking substantial space for students to gather outdoors comfortably. Another issue with the college is way-finding, as there are two distinct buildings located on the campus serving very different functions.

My ideas for the college include emphasizing the main entrance for pedestrians and motorists, creating a sensory garden to be used by the Royal National Institute of Blind People located on the campus, creating two plazas for the two buildings with one being a major gathering point for the students and both spaces are semi-enclosed by a proposed orchard; at the rear of the main building, an amphitheatre to serve the film and theatre department and be another gathering space for students as well as a community allotments.

The Central plaza is the main feature of the campus, drawing people to the centre through a direct link between the bus stop and drop off points thereby making way-finding easier. The Club Plaza serves as a smaller gathering space for 'The Club' (the Jewel & Esk Building that contains the spa and culinary department) as well as for students residing on the campus.

The community allotments are composed of raised beds of varying heights so that they are accessible to all, the vegetables and fruits grown here can be used by both the college and the local community.