Destination Hillend will transform the existing Midlothian Snowsports Centre into a new landmark overlooking Midlothian and Edinburgh.

The practice wrote: “The design uses a monolithic volume set within the Pentland Hills landscape. The volume mimics the ridgeline of the hills beyond the building, whilst highlighting the key activities and access points on the facade.

“At first floor, the forms are clad in red terracotta tiles referencing the terracotta roof tiles of historic agricultural buildings in the Lothians. The main entrances are picked out with glazed bricks in a pattern that echoes the local hillside, using greens of the landscape, yellows of gorse flowers and purples of heather to draw visitors in.

“The building will create a hub for multiple activities including climbing, soft play, ski-hire, dining, events and retail. Importantly, a green roof enhances site biodiversity and embeds the new forms into the hillside context, particularly when viewed from the hillside above. The building negotiates the steep topography by being built into the hillside and allows users to move from the access road level to the base of the ski slopes and other hillside activities, which will include a zipline, alpine coaster and tubing.”

The development is targeting net zero in terms of operational carbon using a fabric-first approach and will utilise renewables for operational energy. Smith Scott Mullan Associates is now progressing technical design information for the new landmark, sensitively tucked into the hillside.

Paul Campbell, project manager, said: “We’re hugely excited for this project to turn the snowsports centre into a national, if not international, tourist attraction and to safeguard the future of a facility already well-loved by everyone from Olympians to novice snowboarders.”

The project team includes:

• Structural: Pick Everard
• M&E: Cundall
• QS: Thomson Bethune
• PM: Hardies Property & Construction Consultants
• Landscape: Wardell Armstrong
• Planning: Montagu Evans
• CDM: Midlothian Council

Matthew Fair, Nicoletta Petralla and Ben Rainger are the project architects.