The Pitt

The Pitt is a key community-led project within the wider Granton regeneration programme, transforming a former industrial unit into a vibrant, flexible destination that supports local enterprise, events and social activity. Delivered by a charity with ambitious sustainability goals and limited funding, the phased development will create a community hub incorporating a bakery, outdoor sauna, street food market, community spaces and business units, while allowing for future expansion. The design retains the site's distinctive industrial character, enhancing functionality, visitor experience and trader facilities without losing the identity that makes The Pitt unique.

The project required a highly cost-effective engineering solution that aligned with the client's commitment to sustainability and circular economy principles. Working within an existing industrial building meant understanding and maximising the capacity of the retained structure, while minimising intervention and embodied carbon. Reducing the environmental impact of the structural design was a key driver. With structural elements typically accounting for 60–70% of a building's embodied carbon, the design needed to prioritise reuse before introducing new materials. At the same time, the proposed mezzanine had to be lightweight, adaptable and capable of supporting the operational needs of the evolving venue.

Our approach centred on making the best possible use of the existing building as the foundation for a low-carbon, future-ready development. Extensive investigations were undertaken to confirm that the existing ground floor slab could support a new lightweight mezzanine without modification, avoiding unnecessary demolition, new construction and associated embodied carbon. The new mezzanine was designed using locally sourced Scottish timber alongside reclaimed Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels recovered from an unused housing development. Rather than allowing these high-value structural panels to become waste, the design was developed around the available stock, enabling their direct reuse and demonstrating a practical application of circular economy principles. Coordinating the reclaimed panels off-site also reduced construction time, waste and environmental impact. By retaining the existing industrial building, maximising the use of the existing structure and designing around reclaimed structural materials, the project demonstrates how community developments can achieve ambitious sustainability outcomes within constrained budgets. The result is a flexible, adaptable community hub that delivers long-term social value while providing an exemplar of low-carbon structural design and the rejuvenation of existing building stock.