82, 84 Slateford Road, Edinburgh

This is an asymmetrical office building designed by Hippolyte Jean Blanc and James Gordon and constructed in 1887. It is an example of Franco-Scottish Renaissance architecture, featuring a conical roofed drum at the southern corner. The building has a three-storey L-plan layout, with a single-storey office and toilet block situated in the re-entrant angle at the rear. The Slateford Road elevation is faced with ashlar, incorporating channelled detailing on the ground floor and a pitched roof. The southwestern range is two storeys and an attic, built upon a sloping site; it is constructed from squared and snecked rubble with ashlar margins and a mansard attic.

The principal southeast elevation, facing Slateford Road, features architraved margins throughout, a cornice above the ground floor, and a moulded cill course at the second floor. Long and short quoins mark the corners. Regular fenestration is present across the facade. A pedimented and fluted doorcase contains a six-panelled door with a fanlight, set within a moulded round-headed surround. Above this is a pedimented window on the first floor. To the left of the porch, a three-bay drum is present, with windows on each floor of each bay; ground floor windows have plain fascia above, first-floor windows have cornices and keystones, and second-floor windows have fascia and dentilled cornices with a panelled frieze. To the right of the porch are two bays, with the first bay featuring a tripartite window on the ground floor; the outer bay is set back and includes a door, fanlight, a narrow light to the left, and a bipartite window on the first floor, topped by a blind oculus and segmental pediment above the second floor. First-floor windows are pedimented. The central two bays have a cornice and a low parapet.

The southwestern elevation is four bays wide. A tall, narrow gablehead with a stack is located to the outer right, rising above the eaves of the lower bays to the left. A date panel displays the initials of the Bernard brothers, with a segmental pediment and apron. Three bays extend to the left, with windows to each floor, showcasing stop-chamfered arrises; the two central bays feature bipartite windows on the ground floor. A band course and cornice run along the first floor. Gabled ashlar dormers grace the mansard roof, alternating between triangular and segmental pediments and linked by a waved and coped parapet. A single-storey link, located at basement level, provides access via a window and door to the office. Plate glass glazing is used in the timber sash and case windows, with small panes in the upper sashes on the ground floor. The roadside block has a steeply pitched roof, with finials on the towers; corniced ashlar gablehead stacks, grey slates, and ashlar coped skews are also present. Cast-iron downpipes and decorative rainwater heads, dated 1887 and entwined with the Bernard brothers' initials, are featured.

The interior includes a mahogany vestibule with carved panelling, which has been slightly altered. A glazed door leads to a large general office, originally featuring relieving arches and consoles, now divided into three laboratories, but retaining all original detailing. The woodwork is painted white, although it appears to be mahogany beneath. Offices to the southeast and northwest feature rich plaster cornices, although fireplaces have been removed. The northwest office has a carved relieving arch above the window. A safe room lined with white ceramic tiles is located in the far northern corner. The main staircase connecting the first and second floors has been removed. A decorative cornice remains in the old bowed Drawing room, where a fireplace has been removed.