Building Briefs – 26th February

More than 100 guests attended the Aberdeen Society of Architects (ASA) annual dinner at Elphinstone Hall in Old Aberdeen on Friday night.

The venue, one of Aberdeen’s most renowned historic buildings, was chosen for its location in the heart of the university’s historic campus at its landmark King’s College buildings.

Opening the evening, president David Chouman welcomed guests before dinner and the awards ceremony.

Michael Gilmour Associates won an award for its design of Marchburn, New House, Lords Throat; Moxon Architects was recognised for Culardoch, Upper Glen Gairn, which was also handed the Wood or Good Award in association with the Forestry Commission.

Project of the Year was awarded to Halliday Fraser Munro for the Marischal Square development.

Keppie Design was commended for Aker Solutions headquarters in Dyce while the Lord Provost Henry E Rae Community Centre extension and refurbishment, by Hypostyle Architects, was also commended. LDN Architects received a commendation for Sail Loft Conversion, Portsoy.

Guest speaker Richard Murphy OBE addressed the audience following the presentation of the awards.

Dave Chouman, president of ASA said: “The standard of projects submitted under our Annual Design Awards Scheme is a testament to the quality and aspiration that architects and architecture bring to projects, be they domestic or commercial. Our congratulations go out to all those that received an award.”

£4m boost for Edinburgh theatre project

A bid to transform Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre has received a £4 million boost.

Edinburgh City Council’s new budget includes £10m for cultural buildings projects, with £4m of that committed to the £25m King’s Theatre overhaul.

The grant sits with £5m from Festival City Theatres Trust.

A theatre spokesman said the £9m “represents a major step in the King’s Campaign realising its ambition to transform the landmark theatre building.”

Duncan Hendry, chief executive of the Festival City Theatres Trust, which runs the Festival and King’s Theatre, said: “This commitment gets the ball rolling on the campaign.”

Dundee housing association properties ‘future-proofed’ in energy overhaul

Almost ninety housing association properties in Dundee have been ‘future-proofed’ against changing energy legislation and price hikes, following a multi-million pound energy overhaul.

Dundee energy company GoSustainable has completed a £3.5 million upgrade of 88 homes at Craigiebank, in the Fintry area of the city, which could see tenants enjoy annual energy savings of around £600. The properties also benefited from a full refurbishment.

The Craigiebank, steel-framed properties are a combination of ground floor flats, upper flats, terraced and semi-detached properties, and are among around 3,000 similar homes constructed in Scotland between 1926 and 1928.

Abertay Housing Association had been experiencing damp and condensation problems within a number of these properties and were also required to find a solution that would ensure continued compliance with the existing Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) targets coming into force in 2020.

GoSustainable identified closed-cell polyurethane spray foam as the best insulation product. GoSustainable was also tasked with implementing a full and identical refurbishment of the properties including new kitchens, bathrooms, heating and triple glazing.

Turbine scheme gets bank funding

Whirlwind Renewables has confirmed work will start on a windfarm in Caithness, following funding support from Clydesdale Bank’s specialist greenenergy team.

Achlachan windfarm, which comprises five two megawatt turbines, will be one of the first built under the UK Government’s Contracts for Difference scheme.

Site preparation work will start within weeks, with the site, on the outskirts of Watten, expected to be fully operational by October 2018. Annual output is predicted to power around 8,400 homes.

Whirlwind director Tom Surman said: “We have met a number of local residents living close to the project to discuss our plans. We also asked for views on where community benefit payments could be made by the windfarm, which will amount to around £50,000 a year.”

The funding from Clydesdale Bank comprises a £12.75million term loan plus credit facilities worth £8 million.