Building Briefs – May 24th

The V&A has released designs of the retail, cafe and restaurant area for the new museum opening in Dundee later this year.

Described as a “living room for the city”, the cafe and shop will sit in the main hall of Kengo Kuma’s £80 million museum of design, serving light refreshments and gifts.

A mixture of European oak, blackened steel, textiles and bespoke concrete will feature across the entire area and the illustrations show for the first time some of the spectacular views visitors to the V&A are set to experience.

The area, created by Lumsden design company, will cover two floors.

The lower floor cafe will have enough space for 74 covers, while the second floor restaurant will have space for more than 150 – 114 inside and a further 36 on the outdoor terrace.

Beside the cafe will sit the shop, which will sell a selection of Scottish design, museum branded merchandise and local produce.

Green light to demolish two Aberdeen schools

Plans to demolish two Aberdeen secondary schools have been given the go-ahead by councillors.

Torry and Kincorth academies will close their doors for the final time at the end of the school term in July, with pupils moving to the new Lochside Academy in Nigg in August.

Members of the council’s capital programme committee unanimously approved the business case for the demolition of both schools.

The site in Torry has been identified as the preferred one for a new primary school and community hub while the Kincorth Academy site has been earmarked for council housing.

New sites to benefit from Aberdeen district heating network

Proposals for a £606,000 investment in the expansion of the Torry district heating network are to be progressed after backing from Aberdeen City Council.

Councillors on the capital programme committee considered the plans yesterday and gave their approval to add to the existing network in Balnagask Circle to incorporate the Deeside Family Centre, Balnagask House and Provost Hogg Court.

Aberdeen Heat and Power designed, built and maintains the existing district heating installation within Torry and is considered well placed to be the service provider for the extension.

The network provides heat and hot water through a system of pipes designed to ensure low carbon emissions.

The Aberdeen project will benefit from match funding from Interreg North West Europe Heatnet, a collaboration of 14 European partners.

Perth & Kinross Council appoints new chief executive

Current Care Inspectorate chief executive, Karen Reid, has been announced as the new chief executive of Perth & Kinross Council, taking over from Bernadette Malone who will retire on July 1.

Following a robust appointment process, the five-member chief executive appointment sub-committee held final interviews on May 22.

Councillor Murray Lyle, council leader and convenor of the appointment sub-committee, said: “I am delighted that Karen has accepted the position as our chief executive – she will be an excellent leader and will help build on our successes as an ambitious and high performing council at an exciting time of development and growth in Perth and Kinross. Karen has held a number of senior roles in the public and voluntary sector. She is an inspirational, values led leader who is committed to partnership working that puts people and communities at the heart of every decision.”

Karen said: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Perth & Kinross Council, one of the leading local authorities in Scotland. I am particularly looking forward to working with citizens across local communities, a high performing team of staff across the organisation, and elected members. I know that together we can continue to deliver high quality services which have a real impact on the people who most need them across Perth and Kinross.”

New tenant marks council housebuilding milestone in North Lanarkshire

A newly settled resident has become the 500th tenant to move into a new build council home by North Lanarkshire Council.

The site of the former St. Aloysius Primary School, Chapelhall, is now transformed into a new council housing development of 30 new, modern, affordable homes. This £5.2 million development, delivered by Cruden Building and Renewals Ltd, comprises a mix of flats, bungalows and houses and is the council’s 22nd completed site.

The homes form part of the NL Homes programme, which has recently been expanded to more than double the affordable homes to 5,000 homes by 2035.

Convener of enterprise and housing, Councillor Allan Graham, visited Mrs Gunn in her new home, together with Gillian Whitehead, housing solutions manager, and presented her with fresh flowers.

Construction Scotland Innovation Centre appoints Perceptive Communicators

Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) has appointed Perceptive Communicators to handle its external communications.

The one -year contract, which Perceptive won following a competitive tender against four other agencies, includes both PR and public affairs.

The Glasgow-based agency will help CSIC highlight the resources and opportunities available to all construction firms in Scotland via its experienced business partnership team and £2 million innovation factory at Hamilton International Technology Park in Lanarkshire.

CSIC helps construction related businesses to innovate, collaborate and grow by matching innovation requirements with business support and academic specialists. It offers training, programmes, partnership management, and a state-of-the-art production and prototyping facility which can be booked on a membership or pay-as-you-go basis.