Location:
Fife College Dunfermline Campus
Client:
Sector:
Woolgar Hunter has provided civil, structural & geo-environmental services on the development of the highly sustainable new Dunfermline Learning Campus for Fife College. The campus, set to open this year, provides cutting edge facilities including industry-standard workshops, centres for excellence in Engineering, Construction, Built Environment & Sport, along with innovation hubs & extensive outdoor learning facilities.
The building was chosen as a pathfinder project for the new Net Zero Public Sector Building Standards for Scotland (NZPSBSS) and is the first building to be build to the regulations. With this enhanced focus on carbon reduction, our engineers conducted research into state-of-the-art sustainable materials. In collaboration with experts from academia and industry, including from B&KS and the University of Exeter, we carried out vibration analysis on a proposed long-span CLT hybrid floor system.
Engineering Excellence
The final design is a hybrid system of CLT and Peikko Deltabeams, which are produced using recycled materials and sustainable energy processes. The frame is now constructed and has been tested on site with exceptional results. The exposed CLT soffit further meant we were able to remove unnecessary plasterboard ceilings and remove significant quantities of intumescent paint. The exposed CLT will enhance the student experience of the building, and the tactile environmental architecture emphasises the fantastic carbon performance of the building. We believe this system to be unique in the UK, and building the engineering design around sustainable material selection has contributed to an overall 25% carbon reduction across the structural elements of the project.
The long span, light weight, hybrid structure, will provide the client with adaptable flexible floor plates, which will allow the client to alter the building to react to the changes in teaching demands. The research and detailing Woolgar hunter is transferable to other uses such as RETROFIRST projects, where we are managing load balance to limit the impact of the vertical structure whilst extending existing building stock.
