Icosis

Icosis Architects is an Edinburgh based practice with an aim to produce high quality, contemporary design solutions focusing on passive energy and the innovative use of natural and sustainable local materials, whether for domestic projects, housing developments, commercial or community-based projects. We approach building projects from the start of all commissions with a view to making each development as sensitively designed, ecologically benign and energy efficient as possible. We advocate the use of natural & sustainable materials to all clients and aim to specify only locally sourced materials where this is possible and practical, whilst considering their embodied energy, particularly of the main construction elements. This process is equally applied to the conservation of Grade A- listed buildings, the sensitive introduction of new elements within historic structures, or for new buildings. We believe that an environmentally aware approach on all projects has many benefits for clients, both commercial and private, in terms of reduced waste, lower cost-in-use, design for flexibility of use, and helps produce solutions that are economical and sustainable to both construct and maintain thereafter. The design of each project is location specific, dealing with the orientation, topography and individual characteristics of each site and this approach, in combination with a thoughtful context-driven choice of materials, allows new buildings to be distinct and yet sit sensitively within their particular environment. In order to achieve this successfully, we consider the longevity of external materials, and generally favour those which require little or no maintenance, which tends to result in buildings which look good at the point of handover, but become more aesthetically pleasing over time as they weather into their environment. We aim to minimise the use of additional mechanical & electrical services within projects due both to the cost of installation and maintenance, and potential future failure, and concentrate on designing highly efficient and passive building envelopes, focussing on the type and orientation of the glazing, the type and efficiency of the insulation, the quality of the materials and the air tightness of the construction.