Procured through Public Contracts Scotland and one of Sharkey’s largest ever public sector contracts at £7.4 million, the project was over 3 phases and involved the full refurbishment of all 349 study bedrooms, 25 communal pantries and a complete upgrade of all key M&E infrastructure.

Working closely with the campus management team to ensure minimal disruption at the university’s principal residential campus, Pollock Halls, was essential with over 1,900 students and staff in residence while works were underway.

With a large number of pedestrians and vehicles in the vicinity in what is a main arterial route into the centre of Edinburgh, Sharkey’s project delivery team met a number of key challenges.  These included the requirement to keep a micro-lab and function suite operational throughout the life of the project and the need to accommodate key university dates including around student exams.  It was crucial that the university was still able to generate income from the estate during the works, including at the time of Edinburgh Festivals and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Running alongside the Holland House project, Sharkey was engaged to modernise the adjoining Masson House into a quality hotel for operator Edinburgh First, the commercial arm of the University of Edinburgh’s accommodation division.  The £1.9 million project saw the conversion of a dated 3 star hotel, increasing the floor space of each room by 50 per cent in order to maximise revenue.

Dalry Swim Centre comprises a swimming pool with poolside and mezzanine changing facilities and a gym on the first floor and the building, which is a Category B listing, is located near to the city’s burgeoning Haymarket regeneration area.

Viewed as one of Edinburgh’s most iconic Victorian pools, the project involves extensive indoor and outdoor works, the introduction of a new ventilation system to make the building more energy efficient and upgraded facilities to cater for families and disabled people.

The £9m project will see Category A listed Buchan House, which dates back to 1775, transformed into a 72-bedroom hotel with a fitness studio, restaurant and “speakeasy bar”.  The building’s original features will be restored and incorporated into what the developers have described as a “fascinating, memorable and truly unique hotel”.

For Sharkey, the project [alongside developer S Harrison Developments Ltd] adds to a portfolio of over £60m worth of hotel projects to date and over 1,000 bedrooms in total for a range of 4 and 5 star brands.  The expertise of Sharkey’s Hotel and Leisure unit in design, build, re-fit and refurbishing has seen the team work alongside some of the world’s premier hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels Group, Kohler Co. and Malmaison.

Viewed by commentators as Scotland’s best example of 21st century work/living environments, the Quartermile development is one of the country’s most comprehensive regeneration projects and sits on a conservation site that once housed the historic Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Cat-B fit-outs of all 7 floors at Quartermile 4 for global tech giant Cirrus Logic and one of Canada’s largest banks, Bank of Montreal and its BMO Global Asset Management division, delivered close to 130,000sqft and has produced some of most innovative and flexible working environments to be found anywhere in the UK.

Cirrus Logic saw a fast-track fit-out of six levels at Quartermile 4 to create open-plan office space to house over 400 workstations, 42 offices, meeting rooms, a gym, restaurant and a highly-serviced laboratory space accommodating a sophisticated array of microelectronic test equipment to develop new hardware.

For BMO Global, who manage almost £200 billion of assets worldwide, the fit-out was undertaken in an almost fully occupied building and saw the creation of office space in keeping with the global financial institution’s high quality workplace standards. With space for over one hundred BMO staff and capacity for growth, the ‘penthouse’ 6th level floor offers stunning views over the city.

The world-renowned hotel, one of the gems in Kohler’s portfolio, sits immediately alongside the Old Course in St Andrews – the Home of Golf.  The project saw the refurbishment of 144 bedrooms, together with extensive fabric upgrade works in Phase 1 and the construction of a new leisure facility complete with 25-metre swimming pool in Phase 2, which also included an upgrade of the existing spa.

The highly collaborative relationship Sharkey built with Kohler and their representatives was a key factor in the success of the overall project.  The positive way this relationship developed from pre-construction to completion served to justify the confidence Kohler placed in Sharkey to meet a series of demanding objectives – including an aggressive timetable carried out during winter on a site fully exposed to the North Sea.

The £14 million project was perhaps most satisfying in terms of the feedback from Kohler who described our team as having “always led with excellent planning, professionalism, and ultimately execution, all the while making this a truly fun, pleasurable experience.”  At Sharkey, we greatly look forward to working with the Kohler team again in the near future.