Pend Architects has completed Canon Mews, the studio’s debut development project that transforms an overlooked infill site in Edinburgh’s Canonmills district into a pair of contemporary mews homes.

Architect-led development and typological approach

As an architect-led development, Canon Mews reflects Pend’s ambition to place design quality at the forefront, reworking the mews typology to create two three-bedroom homes that balance light, privacy, and outdoor space within a modest urban footprint.

Built on a constrained brownfield site, the project unlocks space from within. Rather than expanding upwards or outwards, the design carves light, outlook, and spatial generosity into the centre of each home. Inspired in part by Tadao Ando’s 1976 Row House in Osaka, the scheme reinterprets the mews typology through a series of internal courtyards and terraces, using light as the primary architectural tool.

Emphasising considered design

Canon Mews marks a step for Pend towards design-led development, delivered as part of a joint venture with Edinburgh-based contractor Gloss Projects. The collaboration reflects a shared concern with the level of care and attention often afforded to new-build housing, positioning the project as an alternative to volume-led delivery, with an emphasis on longevity and considered design.

Where traditional Edinburgh mews properties are often overlooked or lack usable outdoor space, Canon Mews turns this condition into a defining feature. Each home is arranged around a private courtyard, bringing natural light into living spaces, framing views, and providing a degree of privacy not typically found in dense historic settings.

The internal layout accommodates living, kitchen, and dining areas, three double bedrooms, and integrated garages, creating a family-scale home within a compact footprint.

Material strategy

Material decisions reinforce this approach. The envelope of each home is constructed from reclaimed brick sourced on site. Carefully removed, cleaned, and reinstated, the bricks are reassembled to suit the new arrangement.

A recurring detail is the reuse of a curved bullnose brick at each entrance, softening and marking the threshold — a small gesture that reflects the level of attention brought to the project.

Set back slightly from the brick facade, red zinc defines the upper storey and roofline, introducing a warm contrast to the reclaimed masonry. Garages and recessed entrance vestibules are finished in finely detailed timber cladding, continuing the rhythm of timber-clad garages along the mews lane.

Interior spaces and material continuity

Internally, the ground floor is finished in porcelain tile with underfloor heating. A sculptural stair formed from solid timber treads and a bespoke metal balustrade leads to a first-floor kitchen and dining space, with access to a roof terrace.

The courtyards retain exposed existing brick and masonry, bringing together materials found on site with the red zinc to form a consistent palette across interior and exterior spaces.

Construction and environmental performance

The homes are constructed using a highly insulated timber frame and are supported by solar PV and EV charging, supporting reduced operational energy demand within a dense, historic urban setting.

Completion and approach

Designed as turnkey homes, the properties are fully fitted and ready to inhabit. Pend and Gloss approach the project with an emphasis on considered design at a domestic scale, avoiding both minimalism and excess.

Jamie Anderson, Director at Pend, said: ‘Canon Mews presented a new opportunity for us as a practice. Taking on the roles of both architect and developer enabled us to explore every stage of the design and development process, and to demonstrate our strong belief that architects are uniquely equipped to unlock constrained urban sites.

From acquisition through to delivery and marketing, we approached each step with intent and an academic curiosity (often naivety) that allowed us to question convention in delivering new build homes. Our joint venture with Gloss was fundamental to this, ensuring a construction process that was collaborative, aligned, and uncompromising in its pursuit of quality.

With Canon Mews, we hope to open a broader conversation about the potential of small urban sites, prioritising thoughtful densification, material quality, and everyday domestic delight. It stands as our own study in how to develop bespoke housing solutions and signals a direction we’re excited to continue pursuing.’