Blairdardie Primary School, located in the east end of Glasgow, offers state-of-the-art facilities to their 462 pupils. The project, which included the phased construction of the new school building within the existing school site, phased pupil transfer and demolition of the existing school building, was delivered by hub West Scotland in partnership with Glasgow City Council.
The facility provides a flexible learning environment with 16 classrooms, a raised stage, drama room, four-court gym hall and changing room facilities. The school is situated directly adjacent to the former school building which was demolished to make way for sports and community facilities, including a full-size synthetic football pitch.
Our team worked closely with Holmes Miller architects and the wider design team to deliver structural and civil engineering services on the school. A site masterplan was developed which allowed the existing school facilities to remain occupied and functional throughout the construction phases. We undertook an optioneering exercise to consider the structural form for the superstructure of the proposed buildings, considering services distribution, cost, programme, buildability, environmental impact and health and safety. Through this collaborative process, we were able to review openly in design workshops to ensure the most efficient design was selected.
Additionally, we offered multi-disciplinary specialist services on each of the schools including flood risk & drainage and geotechnical engineering, as well as environmental and transport advice.
The site lies within an area of high risk from flooding which combined with a lack of surface water drainage caused a considerable constraint to the development. Our team undertook a detailed flood risk assessment to ensure that the new school facility and associated parking were positioned at a level outwith the site flood level. In addition, our team engaged with Scottish Water, Glasgow City Council and Scottish Canals to negotiate a separate surface water outfall to the nearby water courses with additional on-site attenuation provided below the car parking and sports areas.
Our transport team prepared a Transport Statement which provided an overall assessment of the transport implications of the proposed school, including pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, vehicular access and parking facilities.
The environmental team were also commissioned to perform a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal to establish the ecological issues likely to arise on the project and plan for the relevant survey requirements accordingly.
Client: hub West for Glasgow City Council
Architect: Holmes Miller
