THE Woodmill High and St Columba’s RC High School in Dunfermline has officially earned the Passivhaus Classic certification, solidifying its position as the largest Passivhaus education building in the world.
The project brings together two operationally separate schools, Woodmill High and St Columba’s RC High, into one building, serving 2,700 pupils.
Achieving the Passivhaus accreditation was part of the initial brief. One of the first construction projects to apply the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT)‘s new ‘Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard’, this is also an SFT Pathfinder project.
The build posed challenges given the complexity of designing a school to meet Passivhaus standards, which typically favours compact, simple structures with limited north-facing openings, neither of which are ideal in an education building of this scale.
Architects and Passivhaus designers AHR worked with the whole project team to integrate Passivhaus design principles from the outset. Early design choices in orientation, form factor, and structural frames drove Passivhaus compliance.
The orientation maximises natural light while reducing energy consumption. Sitting on the wider Dunfermline Learning Campus, the principal facades’ north/south orientation also addressed wider campus masterplan requirements.
With the two high schools combined into one single structure, the design is said to boast a highly efficient form factor that minimises heat loss. The project team undertook a building frame analysis to determine the best solution to balance airtightness, embodied carbon and buildability. A hybrid frame was selected, comprising a precast concrete frame. For the main school building, a cross laminated timber frame for the sports block and a steel frame for the central core of the building was selected.
Passive measures such as high performance triple glazing, solar shading, shading fins and high levels of insulation enhance energy performance.
Fife Council is building on the success of the project by continuing to work with AHR and BAM to develop the new Caledonia High School, another Passivhaus Classic targeting school, due to open in 2026.
Stuart Bryson, project director at AHR, said, “We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved here. This project demonstrates what’s possible when ambitious sustainability goals align with innovative design. The school sets a new standard for future educational buildings, proving that high-performance, low-energy design can enhance the learning environment in a meaningful way.”
