Mayfield Road

Student Accommodation Edinburgh

The Project

Mayfield Road is a £30 million purpose-built student accommodation development in Edinburgh, delivering over 250 student bed spaces for Lanark Student Living. Arranged across two buildings rising to six storeys, the scheme was procured on a design and build basis and completed in 2025.

Etive provided full civil and structural engineering design services, supporting one of the earliest large‑scale uses of off-site modular construction within Edinburgh’s PBSA market — helping to drive programme certainty, build quality and efficiency.

The Challenge

Located at 220 Mayfield Road, the site presented a tightly constrained and technically demanding environment. Formerly occupied by a mix of commercial and residential buildings, it was further restricted by a channelised section of the Braid Burn, a Scottish Water sewer running directly beneath the site, and a substantial boundary bund containing critical water infrastructure.

Significant level changes across the site, the presence of unrecorded historic foundations and proximity to a public footpath added further complexity. When Etive joined the project at RIBA Stage 3, these constraints had not yet been fully resolved, creating risk around buildability, cost and programme.

Our Solutions

Etive developed a clear, coordinated civil and structural strategy that unlocked the site and enabled the project to progress with confidence. The superstructure was delivered using an off-site modular steel system, designed and fabricated off-site and installed in Edinburgh to accelerate construction and improve quality control.

This was supported by a carefully engineered in‑situ reinforced concrete frame, incorporating a piled raft foundation, reinforced concrete transfer slab and core walls — providing a robust platform capable of accommodating the modular units and accommodating challenging ground conditions.

Early focus on the substructure, levels and interfaces with existing infrastructure proved critical. Through proactive collaboration and detailed coordination, Etive successfully navigated build‑over constraints, level changes and buried services, delivering a practical, efficient and commercially viable solution on a highly constrained urban site.