Keel Houses student living social space on the Union Canal, Edinburgh, for Glencairn Properties, by Significant Others

Defining how students live before a single wall goes up.

Sector

PBSA

Client

Glencairn Properties

Location

Union Canal, Edinburgh

Services

Concept + Feasibility
Brand Strategy + Identity
Interior Design + Delivery
Wayfinding
Shared dining table and arched booths at Keel Houses student accommodation, Edinburgh
Student lounge with terrazzo floor and coral booths at Keel Houses, Edinburgh
Window counter with terracotta seat pads at Tatties restaurant, Edinburgh
Games room with table tennis and garden view at Keel Houses, Edinburgh

Before anyone drew a floor plan, we asked a simpler question: how should students actually feel living here? Keel Houses sits on the Union Canal at Lower Gilmore Place and the answer had to beat an amenity checklist.

Our feasibility study mapped how students move through a day. Cinema and games rooms, private dining and flexible lounges were then shaped around those rhythms: busy, studious, sociable or switched off.

Across 69 apartments, bespoke joinery and integrated storage make every square metre work hard without feeling cramped.

Somewhere students choose to spend time, not just somewhere to sleep.

Study table with globe wall lights and arched mural at Keel Houses, Edinburgh
High table against a red tiled wall at Keel Houses student living, Edinburgh
Red post boxes and Keel Houses signage in the entrance, Edinburgh
Student studio with kitchen and Juliet balcony at Keel Houses, Edinburgh

A co-living environment shaped around behaviour, wellbeing and community.

Student bedroom with green headboard at Keel Houses, Edinburgh
En-suite shower room with white tiles at Keel Houses, Edinburgh
Studio kitchen and study desk at Keel Houses student accommodation, Edinburgh
Timber shared kitchen at Keel Houses, Edinburgh
Lounge with green sofa and herringbone floor at Keel Houses, Edinburgh
Keel Houses kh monogram on the glazed entrance, Edinburgh