Ravelston Garden is a 1930s

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

development of residential buildings, between Craigleith Avenue North and South, in the suburb of Ravelston in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the capital of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was designed by Andrew Neil and Robert Hurd, 1935–36, and consists of three white- harled

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

blocks of 4-storey flats. They were originally known as the Jenners flats, who were the managing agents. Ravelston Garden is a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The ''Edinburgh'' volume of the Buildings of Scotland series describes them as "Less stylish but more serious-minded".Gifford, et al, p.65 Architectural historian Charles McKean describes them as "Jaunty blocks of international style flats on a butterfly plan, complete with roof gardens, canopies, balconies and curving garages. Particularly clever design incorporating up-to-date labour saving devices. Must have caused quite a stramash amidst the douce, opulent villas of the Dykes..."McKean (1987), pp.165–166 The book ''Above Edinburgh & South East Scotland'' by Angus and Patricia MacDonald includes a panoramic photograph of the three blocks, and describes them as "Proving that Edinburgh was in touch with the very latest architectural ideas in the 1930s, these flats... were among the first buildings to bring the International Style to the city".MacDonald, et al, p.140 The original fenestration was based on galvanised thin metal of the " Crittall" type, some of which were replaced by modern equivalents during repainting in 1989. Their original colour was green, and they are now white to ensure a common colour amongst the blend of new and original windows. Some 43 of the 48 flats have new windows. Other changes have include novel up and over garage doors, discreetly designed to match their originals.

References

*J Gifford, C McWilliam and D Walker, ''Edinburgh''. (Buildings of Scotland series), (1984), pp 65, 534; * *C McKean, ''The Scottish Thirties'', (1987), pp 165–166; *C McKean, ''Edinburgh'', (1992), p 159; *A MacDonald, P MacDonald, "Above Edinburgh & South East Scotland", (1989) p 140.

External links

Ravelston Garden
CANMORE
Scottish Architects Database Reference for Ravelston Garden
Buildings and structures in Edinburgh Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Housing estates in Edinburgh International style architecture in Scotland Art Deco architecture in Scotland 1930s establishments in Scotland Residential buildings completed in the 20th century {{Scotland-struct-stub