The Villas Building, The Royal Observatory, Observatory Road, Edinburgh

The Villas Building, located at The Royal Observatory on Observatory Road in Edinburgh, was designed by W W Robertson of HM Office of Works between 1892 and 1894. This pair of two-storey, four-bay, symmetrical, gabled, and semi-detached former villas has been converted into offices. They feature Greek and Italian architectural detailing and are situated on slightly sloping ground within the larger walled compound of the Edinburgh Royal Observatory on Blackford Hill. Notably, flat and pitched roof additions made in the later 20th century on the west elevation are excluded from the listing.

The villas are constructed from coursed sandstone rubble, accented with smooth sandstone quoins, window dressings, and moulded window cills. They showcase deep decorative timber bracketed eaves and carved timber panel details with finials at the gable apexes. The south elevation includes paired canted bay windows on the ground floor, with carved stone balustrading that creates small balconies above at the first floor level.

The north (entrance) elevation features console bracketed door canopies, linked by a first-floor cill course, and timber panelled bi-fold entrance doors. The buildings have corniced ridge stacks, and the rainwater goods are made of cast iron, complete with decorative hoppers and star-shaped detail support for the downpipe brackets. The windows are timber sash and case.

The interiors were last observed in 2015, and the layout largely retains its original late 19th-century design. Subsequent alterations have connected the two buildings internally at both levels, creating a suite of small office rooms. The staircases are fitted with plain turned timber bannisters, while the bay windows feature timber panelling and some simple dentil cornicing in the principal rooms. The panelled timber doors leading to the entrance lobbies have a margined glazing pattern.