We set out to design maintenance free, robust and ergonomically comfortable external seating and tables for students in this brand new, award-winning architectural masterpiece.

Paul Hodgkiss was invited by Gillespies, the lead architects on a multidisciplinary team including Parsons Brinckerhoff and Gardiner & Theobald, to contribute to the transformation of St Andrew Square Gardens in central Edinburgh.

Paul worked closely with the minister and congregation to design and craft a new pulpit, lecterns, font, and a three-part chancel. The circular stained glass window inspired the layout-in-the-round and informed the chancel’s form.

The Explorers Garden, Pitlochry Pagoda completed in 2002 was a special project we dedicated to Scottish plant collector and explorer, George Forrest. The delicately shaped roof trusses and hung panels are made from Scottish Oak, with Cedar shingles and Elm benches.

The main countertop is crafted from solid two-inch “Cat’s Paw” cluster oak, featuring a striking detail where Loch Lomond beach pebbles have been set into a natural knothole in clear resin. Above, the reception counter is a sculpted slice of two-inch burr elm, again supported on metal brackets, celebrating the timber’s organic shape.