Location:
Peebles High School
Client:
Sector:
In partnership with Stallan Brand Architects and BAM Construction, Woolgar Hunter engineers are currently on site providing civil and structural design for Peebles High School campus. The project will replace the existing school which was seriously damaged by fire in 2019. New facilities include a two-storey building providing flexible learning space, an extension to the existing sports block and landscaped public realm for community use. The new facilities are being constructed within the existing school site and the project is phased to minimise disruption to learning.
Engineering Excellence
The design team went through a detailed options appraisal to accommodate the increased MEP zone driven by BB101 to find the balance between a low-carbon frame and keeping the overall building height down to reduce the embodied carbon associated with the facade. A concrete frame flat slab provided this, whilst also providing full flexibility in the MEP distribution and partitioning layout to maximise the building lifespan through the changing needs of the education sector.
Whilst not a contractual requirement, we have also undertaken an assessment of the embodied carbon and use this to inform design decisions, with an aim of minimising emissions. Green infrastructure in the form of swales, rain gardens, and detention basins are being utilised as part of the surface water management strategy. Use of source control SuDS features, providing interception, will reduce both surface water runoff flow and volume. This approach allowed us to demonstrate to Scottish Water that the proposals constituted a betterment on pre-development situation and was critical to ensuring disposal to the local combined public sewer system.
