Compost shed is 'architectural gem'

• The compost shed, designed by Groves-Raines Architects, captivated the Scottish Design Awards for its uniqueness. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

The 7ft-high shed, at the bottom of a garden near Edinburgh's Botanic Garden, was awarded the chairman's prize from a total of nearly 100 entries across all categories at the prestigious Scottish Design Awards 2010.

Roger Zogolovitch, the competition's chairman, said the shed in Inverleith Terrace "stood apart for its impulsive, attractive and seductive charms. It's surely a joy to be in."

The shed is made of curving weathered steel, complete with a wildflower meadowgrass roof built round a sculpture.

Designed by Edinburgh-based Groves-Raines Architects, it stands beside the Water of Leith pathway, and has attracted interest from passers-by who have spotted its owners up on its roof tending the grass and planting bulbs.

The shed is made from sustainable, woven iron "rebar" rods used to strengthen concrete, which allows air to pass through the structure to help the composting process.

Anna Guest, who commissioned the shed with her partner Gus Schwarz, said: "We were in the middle of a garden design and I wanted to define the four corners of the garden. The bit of garden where the shed would eventually go was a miserable, dark corner.

"Nick Groves-Raines originally suggested the same shed as Prince Charles has at Highgrove and it has a slightly more Indian style. But I said 'no, no, no, it's got to work with the contours of the garden and paths', so it was back to the drawing board.

"He started sketching on the back of an envelope and eventually came up with an armadillo-shaped structure."

She had considered using willow for the walls but it was not durable enough. Instead, they decided to use metal rods.

"Now, when you walk down our steel gothic tunnel planted with honeysuckle, vines and clematis, you get a lovely surprise at the end when you see the organic composting shed," she said.

"People are so interested in it. Someone walking along the Water of Leith took my photo when I was up on the grass roof planting bulbs."

Stuart Falconer, one of the firm's architects, said: "It's fantastic the shed has won this award. It is certainly not the cheapest of sheds and takes a certain kind of open-minded client to go for something like this. It has been a one-off for us.

"We were remodelling the house and they had definite ideas of the specialist element they wanted for the garden."

Mr Falconer added: "The shed also won an American Institute of Architects' award and we've had inquires from oversees including Korea and the Netherlands."

The Architecture Grand Prix, the competition's overall prize, went to Edinburgh-based Malcolm Fraser Architects for their Scottish Ballet centre in Pollok on the south side of Glasgow.

The building has an aluminium facade with elaborate concrete at street level.

'Standard materials used in an unusual and imaginative way'

THE composting shed for the garden in Inverleith in Edinburgh was built to be "sustainable". This is something we all talk about but which can be difficult to put into practice.

However, this composting shed has a number of elements which give it this quality.

Firstly, the materials used for the roof – grass and plants which will constantly be renewing themselves throughout the seasons.

The base of it is actually a rubber-lined flat steel roof with a build-up of plants.

Secondly, the other major sustainable element is the reinforced steel horizontal and vertical rebar rods which were woven to form the walls. The bars are sustainable because they will last so long and don't have to be treated.

The "recycling" element of the composting shed was echoed in the use of a very standard material in a very unusual and imaginative way.

The fact that light filters through the walls means the shed doesn't need electricity.

Thirdly, it was designed so that the walls "disappear" into the ground to be part of the landscape.

Fourthly, looking at context it was designed to blend with the surrounding mature woodland and the nearby Water of Leith.

There's no hinged door, instead it has a curved "opening".

Stuart Falconer is an architect with Groves-Raines Architects.