TWO BDP-designed education projects – Ayr Grammar Campus and the University of Strathclyde Learning and Teaching Project – have been shortlisted in the annual AJ Retrofit Awards.
The awards celebrate the expertise behind the renewal and repurposing of existing buildings.
The 20,000 sqm Learning and Teaching Building at the University of Strathclyde’s Campus in Glasgow comprises the refurbishment and adaptive re-use of two existing buildings, the Colville Building and the B-listed Architecture Building. The project has created a new student hub overlooking the university’s Rottenrow Gardens. BDP said the re-use of the existing structure and adaption of existing buildings provides a ‘significant reduction’ in embodied carbon compared to a full new build.
Martin Jarvie, architect associate at BDP, said, “There was a clear opportunity to re-use and adapt these existing buildings to improve the quality of the university’s campus and enhance the overall student experience. The decision to transform the existing buildings rather than a new-build project also has substantial sustainable benefits.
“Our sustainability team compared the embodied carbon of the adaptive re-use of the existing building structure to a notional new build equivalent and demonstrated that the project saved around 67% of CO2e.”
The second BDP project on the awards shortlist is Ayr Grammar Campus. The restored historic building, located on the edge of the 17th Century Citadel of Ayr, provides a multi-generational community offer which BDP explained preserves the legacy of education on the site through adaptive reuse whilst delivering a learning environment for the 21st Century.
Lindsey Mitchell, architect director at BDP’s Glasgow Studio, said, “It is great to see Ayr Grammar Campus making the shortlist in this year’s AJ Retrofit Awards. The project demonstrates well our approach to the restoration of historic buildings and how their reuse can be relevant to contemporary education, providing spaces that deliver both academic and social benefits to the wider community.”
The new hub comprises a nursery, a primary school, community arts centre, and a new home for the Ayrshire Archives and Registry.
The AJ Retrofit winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 24 February.
